Razor's Edge
by Drowningblonde
Summary: After Zarkon's death Korrinoth is left vulnerable. Voltron and their allies decide the time is right to bring the fight to their enemies! Results in total war between Altea and Korrinoth where even allies have their own agendas & the difference between friend and enemy blurs to the vanishing point. Uses combined story elements from DD, LV,Golion & Diarugger. K/A pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**Razor's Edge**

**Prologue **

_Le roi est Mort! Vive le roi!_

**1**

He had just finished dinner and was sitting down to a bottle of wine when he got the news. The old bastard didn't even send it himself. His father was launching an attack on Altea.

Lotor, Crown Prince of Korrinoth and the Ninth Kingdom, felt his temper flare and hurled his glass against the wall. A startled yelp attracted his attention and he turned to the source of the sound. A servant stood just to one side of the dripping stain clutching a decanter with white knuckled fingers.

"Bring me another!" he growled.

She hurried and fetched a glass and set it on the side table nervously overfilling it. She picked it up as carefully as she was able and handed it to him, wincing when it spilled over the prince's fingers and dripped onto his lap. He set the glass down slowly on the table without looking and backhanded her, sending her sprawling to the floor. Another servant rushed over and carefully wiped his hands and laid a fresh napkin across his lap. He picked up the glass and frowned at the dark purple ring it left on the linen and took a deep swallow_. The crazy old bastard! What did he think he was doing? He will ruin everything I have worked for._

King Zarkon's behavior had become very erratic over the last few years. But this, this was too much even for him. To launch an attack against the Alteans while their military forces were already engaged in another conflict was sheer stupidity. Or madness. _He should have consulted me first. He has no idea what he's getting into over there. Obviously those self-serving cronies of his did nothing but agree with him…like they always do. Father, you fool! _The frustrated prince thought.

Zarkon had an irrational hatred of Altea and given the history of the two kingdoms it could almost be understood. He considered the Alteans to be faithless cowards ever since they failed to honor a treaty to aid the newly independent Ninth Kingdom which, at the time, consisted of Korrinoth, Tyrus and three small, barren rocky moons, when they were attacked by the more powerful Fifth Kingdom. It was learned later that Altea had been selling lazon to the Fifth Kingdom and as part of the arraignment had agreed to remain neutral if there was ever a conflict between the two Kingdoms. It was an insult that Zarkon would never forgive.

According to Zarkon, the Alteans had elected to cast their fortunes with the Fifth Kingdom and would share their fate and come under the patronage of the Ninth Kingdom. The Alteans disagreed. Vehemently. Enraged, he destroyed the planet's infrastructure and enslaved its people, sending a civilization at the pinnacle of technological advancement back to the Bronze Age.

Eventually, he captured and executed the both the king and queen. He would have done the same to their young daughter if she had not been hidden safely away. Yet for some odd reason he still would not leave them alone. Returning repeatedly to destroy any attempt to rebuild. Until, of course, the Galaxy Alliance had stepped in and the five lions which formed the robot Voltron were reawakened.

Lotor took another swallow of his wine. His father had chosen his timing carefully and it could not have been worse. The prince had come to the Fifth Kingdom to stop an attempted coup and restore it to the control of the Ninth. After sixteen weeks of fighting, his forces had finally suppressed the rebellion and the routed monarchs and their supporters had fled into exile. But the victory was not without considerable losses.

Currently he was neck deep in the diplomatic process of setting up the defacto government. His cousin, Tabor, who had created this mess, could not be trusted to maintain order in his absence. If he left now, there could be a power vacuum that could send the whole Fifth Kingdom into either civil war or back into the hands of the loyalists who supported the monarchy.

_Troublesome old bastard. Maybe now he'll realize that Altea is not a planet full of helpless farmers anymore. Let's see he how well he does against the Galaxy Alliance and Voltron_. _Yes, those lions will be quite a shock to the old man. I doubt he'll ever call me incompetent again. _He thought smugly, smiling to himself.

His smile faded as he thought of the lions. It took all five lions to form Voltron. All someone had to do was take out one lion and Voltron would be no more. And his father knew it. He frowned as he thought of Princess Allura, pilot of the blue lion. She was the most inexperienced of the five. The proverbial weak link in what should have been an unbreakable chain. His father would focus his attack on her. Separate the blue lion from the group and target all his fire power on it. He would kill her without a second thought. In fact it was probably his intention. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Destroy the last member of the Altean royal family and end what he considered to be his son's embarrassing infatuation with the girl. Lotor drank deeply and slammed his empty glass back on the table.

_No! He can't! Allura, n'saiyat, I won't let him hurt you. _He had to get to Altea and join his father's forces and find a way to protect her. The servant made to refill his glass but he waved her away. He had a lot of work to do.

Three days later he departed Nemon, the home planet of the Fifth Kingdom, for Korrinoth. He left half of his forces behind to maintain order and hoped that he would be in time to save the princess.

**2**

First Lieutenant Dolores "Lala" Martinez stretched out on the bed in the clear walled hibernation chamber she was assigned to trying to get used to the strange hooded body stocking she had to wear. The suit was made from a white, synthetic fabric looked like quilted cotton but felt like gel. It was designed to regulate her temperature, keep her skin from drying out and from developing bed sores_. It feels so…so gooey,_ she thought as she wiggled her toes.

There were four bunks and she already met one of her roommates. A surly gunnery sergeant who made no secret of what he thought about the hibernation garment and his assignment to Altea.

"Ah, shit, I hate these goddam things. Always up the crack of my ass." He said to himself adjusting the suit as he settled onto his bed. "Jesu Christos! Who the hell did I piss off to get sent out to the ass end of nowhere!"

"Ass end of nowhere?" Lt. Martinez said sitting up laughing.

"Oh, Ma'am I didn't see you there. I apologize if I spoke out of turn." He said looking up at her struggling to get out of his bunk in the tight garment.

"As you were, Gunny, no offence taken." She said. "What's so bad about Altea? I heard the weather's great and the locals are friendly."

"Ah, yes Ma'am it is and they are. I'm just not looking forward to six months in hibernation wearing a goo suit." He said. She knew was holding back because she was an officer.

"Is it so bad?" she asked.

Is this your first float, Ma'am?" He asked.

"No, but the first that I have to take a nap for. Is it as bad as I've heard?"

He frowned a little as if thinking of what to say. "Depends on the person, I guess. It's the hang over when they wake you up that's the worst. And maybe the smell. It takes a couple of showers to get it off. I'll say this for it though, sure gives you a lot of time to think."

"I guess I'll have to wait and see. What's your unit?"

"Three fourteen, Ma'am."

"Oh, you're an arty."

"Yes ma'am, you?"

"Air wing. I'm a pilot." She said and she could have sworn she heard him think '_Pouge_.'

"Oh, then you'll have lots of fun on Altea, Ma'am." He said.

The door opened and the two other occupants joined them, walking stiffly in their goo suits. Both were newly minted Second Lieutenants. Martinez suppressed a smile as the Sergeant got up off his bunk and came to attention. She saw the muscle in jaw his jaw flex and knew they shared the same thought _"Butterbars, goddam butterbars."_

The medical staff finished prepping them and now she was wearing an oxygen mask, two intravenous drips and tubes inserted into uncomfortable places she would rather not think about. No wonder Gunny hated this.

There had been a round of joking when the medical staff had been at work.

"Listen, what happens off-world stays off-world!" He had warned them when it was his turn.

"I thought it was 'Don't ask. Don't tell?"** Davis, one of the boot Lieutenants had quipped.

"That too." He said and then the nurse had pulled the curtain.

All that was left was for the doctor to administer the sedative that would allow them to be brought to and maintained at the brink of death. Martinez moved restlessly in her bunk wincing a little when the catheter pinched her. She still couldn't believe she got this assignment. Her commander had 'volunteered' her for it out of spite, but nothing could have made her happier. The orders were simply to join the battalions already stationed to defend Altea against Korinoth, but she knew differently. The personnel numbers weren't right. This wasn't a routine deployment, this was an invasion force. The nightmare she had been through to get back to Earth and all the blood and sweat of her training in the Corps was finally going to be worth it. She knew was going back to Korrinoth_. Pay back's a bitch, motherfucker_. She thought smiling.

**3**

Prince Lotor was a little more than half way to Altea on the bridge of his flag ship when word arrived of his father's defeat.

" Your Highness! There is an urgent communication from Korrinoth." His communications officer said.

"Go ahead." He answered and the grizzled image of Yael Krieg, Lord Protector of Korrinoth, his father's oldest advisor, appeared on his visual.

"The king is dead. Long live the king!" Lord Krieg said delivering the formal announcement of accession in a strong clear voice.

Immediately there was an answering shout from his bridge crew of "Long live the King! May He long reign over us!"

Lotor blinked twice, swallowed and took a deep breath. After a moment he rose from the command chair and glanced around. His bridge crew had sunk onto to one knee with bowed heads. He didn't believe it. He didn't dare believe it. His father was dead? Impossible!

"Transfer communication to my stateroom. Change course for Korrinoth. General Cosack you have the bridge." He ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The general said rising to his feet and bowing deeply as the new king exited the room.

_My father is dead and I am King?_ He struggled to absorb the idea as he walked quickly to the lift that led directly to the royal suite. _Word travels fast_, he noticed as soldiers bowed as he passed instead of bracing to attention. _There must be some mistake._

He entered his stateroom and his valet servants bent to one knee and the two concubines that he usually traveled with prostrated themselves with their foreheads on the floor. It was familiar and it comforted him.

The Lord Protector was already on the visual at his desk waiting for him. That was a first. Usually it was the other way around. He sat down and a motioned for his valet to bring him a drink. He took it and noticed the slight tremor in the liquid. His hands were shaking. He took a sip and set the glass down and turned his attention to his father's oldest advisor.

"How?" he asked.

"Majesty? Perhaps it would be best if you heard this in private?" Krieg asked pointedly looking at the servants in the room.

_Already he starts trying to isolate me,_ Lotor thought sourly. "Krieg, I don't keep anyone near me that I do not trust. Bear that in mind. You may speak freely." He didn't add that he also didn't keep any servants that spoke the Imperial language around him either. Anymore. He had learned that lesson the hard way. There was nothing worse than a slave who knew too much. Knowledge, even innocently obtained, can be a dangerous thing, shortening the life expectancy of even the most faithful of servants. And good help was hard to find.

"When your Majesty's father attacked Altea, they were waiting for him. Somehow they had received the whole battle plan. Types of ships, personnel numbers, infantry, and weapons even the jump co-ordinates…everything. We suspect they were informed by spies." Krieg said.

"You suspect there were spies!" the new king asked incredulously. "Really? Spies informed them? However did you come to that amazing conclusion?" Lotor took a deep swallow of wine and looked away in disgust. _Fucking idiot! Why did he surround himself with these ass-kissers! Oh, father, it cost you your life._

"We-we are still investigating the source of the leak." The Lord Protector bristled at the sarcasm.

"Let me guess…my father had a banquet before he deployed?"

"Yes, he did. As tradition demands. As a matter of fact I suggested it."

"I see. And as tradition demands he allowed his commanders access to the place harem?"

"Yes, of course." Lord Krieg still looked puzzled.

Lotor sighed in exasperation. "The spies, and there are several, are among the women in the harem. Undoubtedly they are on the payroll of that Polluxian whore and her lunatic boyfriend."

The surprise on the Krieg's face should have been comical. But it wasn't. If he had been in the room Lotor would have decapitated him where he stood. That would have to wait until he got back to Korrinoth. Gods only knew what other vital information had been leaked to the insurgency while he was gone because of this moron.

"Does your Majesty want me to begin interrogation of the harem slaves?"

"No, no…you've done quite enough, Krieg. I have a, ah...something special in mind for you. Tell me, who was my father's commanding general?"

"General Yurrak, he died with your father. Captain Siek commander of the _Arren Saehir, _ is on his way back to Korrinoth with what's left of….I mean, the rest of the fleet…And," he swallowed uncomfortably, "your father's remains."

"His remains? Oh, yes, of course." Lotor closed his eyes and nodded. He wanted to know how his father died but he couldn't stomach hearing it from this asshole. "That will be all Krieg."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lotor cut the transmission and hailed the bridge.

"This is your King, get Captain Seik on the _Arren Saehir_."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He felt a moment of elation knowing that it was him they were calling Your Majesty. He had wanted to hear those words addressed to him his whole life. And there were many times that he didn't think they ever would be. But now that they were, they didn't sound quite as good as he imagined.

His relationship with his father had always been one that fluctuated between dislike and outright hostility punctuated by brief moments of closeness. He never thought that he would feel anything but relief at the miserable bastard's death. But now he felt… he felt what? Truthfully, he didn't know if it was grief or shock. He held out his cup for a refill and rubbed his forehead.

"_Ni' Saiya_?" a small voice called out.

"Hmm? What is it Jolie?" he answered and patted his thigh beckoning the petite slave to come over to him. She padded over and sat at his feet. He reached down and combed his fingers through her thick gold hair.

"You look upset." She said in Trade.

"I do? I suppose I am, a little." He said and continued stroking her head.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because now everyone calls me Your Majesty instead of Your Highness." He answered.

"Oh!" she gasped in understanding and looked up at him. "Oh no, _Ni'Saiya_! I'm so sorry." She said and crawled up into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. _Odd, if anyone other than a slave offers me condolences it would be considered treason._ He put his arm around her, closed his eyes and tilted his head back allowing himself a moment to feel the comforting warmth of her body and soft kittenish breath on his neck.

A few minutes later the com chimed and Captain Yoi's voice could be heard. "Your Majesty, Captain Seik is on standby at Your leisure."

"Off! Go lay down." he told the girl gently and she slid down from his lap and scurried back to her chaise in the sitting area.

"Go ahead." He ordered Yoi and Seik's haggard face immediately told him everything he didn't want to know.

**4**

"I'm not convinced that an offensive strike is the right course of action, Coran. With Zarkon dead there may be a way to negotiate the end of this war." The Princess Allura looked at her Prime Minister steadily and then at each of the other eight people sitting at the conference table trying to gauge how much support she had. It didn't look promising.

"Princess, I wish that were true, but I have no doubt that Lotor is already planning retaliation for the death of his father. Korrinoth's forces are both divided and weakened. It is foolhardy to wait for them to regroup and rearm themselves. I feel that we cannot let this opportunity pass, we may never get another." Coran replied.

"Retaliation? For the death of his father? Yeah, fu—freakin' right! He's been waiting for that old son of a bitch to die longer than we have! We did him the biggest favor of his whole goddam life! Seriously, he should send us a case of Jack Daniels and a thank you note or something, damn!" Lieutenant McClain, the red lion pilot, exclaimed, thankfully remembering not to swear too badly in front of the Alliance commanders that were present.

Coran glared at him from across the table. "Lieutenant, we are all aware of the enmity that was between Zarkon and his son. That is precisely my concern. Lotor cannot let this go unanswered. It would have a very negative effect on his standing as a sovereign in the Supremacy if he treated with us after we defeated Korrinoth's forces. Especially after we killed his father."

"Lotor is bogged down in the Fifth Kingdom." The princess pointed out. "He came close to losing it this time! His father watched us destroy one third of his fleet before he died! Altea is not a helpless and beaten world anymore. Since we've had Voltron and the Alliance has established a permanent base here we have become a force to be reckoned with. Lotor knows this better than anyone. Our threats have teeth now just as our assurances have value!" She said vehemently and paused to let her words have effect.

"There is no way he could continue to fight this war with half an army and a Kingdom on the brink of civil war. Surely there is no better time to sue for peace than now." Allura said with more confidence than she truly felt. It wasn't that she didn't think she was right, but Coran, although he was like a father to her, intimidated her. When she opposed him she felt like a child asking for permission, not like the ruler of her people. She met his eyes and forced herself not to look away. Keith is right. The more I stand up to him the easier it will get.

"Her Highness makes a good point." Captain Keith Kogane, the black lion pilot and commander of the Voltron force said. "We would have to mobilize nearly everything we have just to take Korrinoth and hold it. Perhaps we should focus on Altea's defense rather than risk over extending ourselves and leaving the planet undefended when Lotor does recover from his losses. Which he has the resources to do much faster than we can. Also, we have no real idea what's left of the fleet Lotor brought with him. I say walk softly and carry a big blazing sword." The Voltron force commander finished. The members of the Voltron force exchanged glances amongst themselves.

It took all of Allura's self control not to look at him. She was sure if she did much more than gratitude would show on her face. When he first came to Altea there was something about the dark eyed enigmatic Marine officer that she was drawn to. It was more than just him being attractive. She had liked him from the start. He had been so patient when she was learning to pilot the blue lion. He had a way of pointing out errors that didn't make her feel foolish, but instead inspired her to try harder and do better. And he was so unconditionally loyal to her planet and herself. She didn't know exactly when it happened but she couldn't help falling in love with him. The feeling she found out was very mutual. It was a miracle they hadn't been discovered by now. _Oh, sweetheart, you are wonderful. What would I do without you?_

Colonel Thompson stroked his graying mustache thoughtfully before he spoke. He knew that which way Captain Kogane went the rest of the Voltron force would follow. He also wasn't blind and he wasn't stupid. Kogane was entirely too protective of the Princess to remain objective. "Well, Captain, that is a good point, too. But I have it on good authority that Prince Lotor left half his fleet in the Fifth. If you ask me, once he gets to Korrinoth and gets up with rest of it, that's gonna be enough to come back here undo pretty much all we've done in the last four years together." He said in his rolling continental drawl. "For sure those reinforcements I requested when Zarkon was headed this way will be here within three weeks. So, we can send him home with a beatin', but I'll be damned if we won't take one worse for doin' it." He reached for the coffee cup in front of him and looked in it, frowned and motioned for his aid to get him a refill.

"Oh, excellent! They are ahead of schedule! I didn't know they would get here so soon." Coran nodded thoughtfully.

" What? Why wasn't I informed of this? On whose authority did you order these reinforcements, Colonel?" Allura asked annoyed her eyes going back and forth from Coran to Colonel Thompson.

"Mine." Coran answered. "Your Highness, I apologize, if I over stepped myself. It was during preparations for the initial siege. I thought it best that we take every advantage offered to us. I must have forgotten to bring it to your Highness' attention. I beg your pardon."

_Bullshit._ Keith thought. _If it was up to you she'd be in her bedroom embroidering._

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Coran. You have always served our kingdom wisely and with sound judgment." She said feeling a little chagrined. Of course he would order reinforcements under threat of a full siege. Of course she would have approved it anyway.

Just then Lance made a small choking sound and rolled his eyes followed quickly by a grunt. He leaned over and rubbed his calf under the table.

"Ow, dude! Watch it!" he said to Hunk who just stared at him silently.

"And it is with the safety and preservation of your kingdom in mind, Highness, that I urge you to think carefully about negotiating with Prince—King Lotor." The prime minister said pressing his advantage.

"It was Zarkon who held a grudge against this Kingdom and my father for that misunderstanding long ago, not Lotor. He's told me himself that he wants to stop this. I think he will be more reasonable than his father." Allura didn't back down.

Keith was proud of her for holding her ground, but he was beginning to think she was wrong. Lotor was absolutely not more reasonable than his father and there was one thing in particular he was most unreasonable about. The thought it of made his stomach knot in rage.

"Princess—Your Highness, you're not thinking this through and nobody's going to tell you so I am." Captain Amanda Lorn leveled her green eyes across the table at the younger woman. "Forgive me if I speak too candidly. You're right Lotor is not his father. He's worse. Zarkon was a thug. Lotor is warlord. Zarkon's sole interest in Altea both before and after Voltron was reawakened was to settle a grudge against your father. Lotor wants to rebuild Altea and bring it under the patronage of the Ninth.

You're also right that you might be able to negotiate a treaty with Lotor. I think you can. A good one. I really do. But you know what his terms are going to be, don't you?" Lorn paused for the ominous implication of her words to sink into everyone at the table. She waited until she saw Allura go pale and Kogane and the one called Hunk clench their hands into fists on the table before she continued. "Negotiate if you really feel that's what best for your people. But you'll be making a deal with the devil himself." _Trust me, I know._ She wanted to add.

A half an hour later the meeting adjourned for dinner and all talk of negotiating with Korrinoth and the Ninth Kingdom had stopped.

"Lorn, I was hoping you'd play that card. God knows I couldn't without soundin' like a dirty old man." Colonel Thompson grinned after they left the conference room and entered the corridor. He peered around to make sure no one could hear them and lowered his voice. " Don't let this get over the wall, but we've been talking with my people in the Fifth. An' they don't have a whole lotta loyalty to the Supremacy since nobody put Zarkon in his place with the way he treated 'em after he took over. If we can get Lotor out of the way, the entire lower half of the Crimson quadrant will be Alliance territory."

"Is that a fact, Sir?" She asked smiling at the thought of the heir to the throne of Korrinoth not living long enough to make it to his own coronation. Zarkon wasn't the only one capable of holding a grudge.

**Glossary: **

**n' saiyat**: noun. fem. Term of endearment. trans. 'my life' but more closely related to Terran 'my love.'

**Ni'Saiya**: noun. trans. literally 'my life'. Formal address used by a slave, usu. a concubine, to their master.

**Arren Saehir**: lit. trans. Dark Wing. Species of predatory bird native to Korrinoth.

**Pouge:** somewhat derisive US Marine jargon meaning "people other than grunts."

**Butterbars**: derogatory term US military term for newly commissioned second lieutenants based on the resemblance of the gold toned insignia worn by them to sticks of butter.

A/N At the time of this writing the US Congress had just voted to end "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and remove the restrictions for gays and lesbians who wish to serve openly in the military. However, this phase has made it into the lexicon of the American language as a term that applies humorously to any situation where too much information is not a good thing. That is the context it is used in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP, Devil's Due Comics and Toei Animation. All other characters are. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way.**

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 1**

**1**

General Cossak stood in the bridge of the shuttle and studied the visuals of the assembled masses that had come to see the Zarkon's body brought home to rest. The court was in mourning and the massive walled courtyard of Galra Castle was sea of drab dark grays and browns. He was wearing his formal uniform, but the ceremonial blood red cape with black and gold embroidered boarder and jeweled clasp had been replaced with one of gray with solid black boarder and a rough cord to fasten it.

The official mourning would last for seven weeks. During which time there would be no joyful music, no banquets, no public performances and all flags would be flown at half mast throughout the kingdom. Everywhere but Galra Castle. There, except for the dark colored clothes, life would carry on as usual. As it should, showing all who looked that the Ninth Kingdom was secure under the rule of a new king.

Cossak waited for Lotor to arrive and accompany his father one last time in royal procession. They would bring the coffin down the ramp and Lotor would follow directly behind it like he would if Zarkon were still alive. But just before they reached the end the pallbearers would stop. Lotor would walk up to the casket, briefly pay his respects and then walk on ahead through the courtyard and enter the castle through the main doors. The casket would follow behind him. It would be the first time he had ever preceded his father in a royal procession. Lotor's first step beyond the casket would be the last time Zarkon's name was spoken. He would be referred to as the 'old king' from that point on. It was an important ritual publicly establishing the authority of the new monarch before the formal coronation ceremony .

He was not surprised to see the amount of people that had gathered. _Kya' shin Kaleh_ had not been performed in generations. Korrinoth had been without a stable monarchy for over a century before Zarkon. Massive visuals were installed along the walls so that those deep in the crowd, set back from the carpeted path could watch the ceremony. It would be broadcast through out the kingdom for the regular citizens to see as well. In addition, media outlets from all over the Empire had come to cover the event.

Security had been a nightmare to organize. Military craft hovered overhead monitoring the air space. Snipers lined the walls watching the crowd for any potential threat. More soldiers in parade uniforms lined the carpeted path the King would walk. The weapons they carried were far from ceremonial. There literally hundreds of uniformed security agents patrolling and hundreds more in plain clothes to blend in with the crowd.

Cossak scanned the crowd again. He zoomed in on a particular section where he knew his wife and children would be. He saw them standing amid the highest ranked courtiers in the Kingdom, three rows back from the roped line. Their position far exceeded their noble rank. But then again, so did his. Being friends with the new king had its advantages. He saw Dalaa, his wife, first and quickly skipped over her and focused on his two children. He had three all together and they were grown now. His eldest son, Relan, was on deployment with the Supremacy and could not be here. Shia, his daughter, was attending university, but had come home for this special occasion. Ioan, his youngest boy would be going to the Academy next season.

He almost didn't recognize the two attractive young people in their formal wear, they seemed to have grown up overnight. But it wasn't overnight, in his service to the Supremacy and later to the Prince he had gone from one deployment to another, missing most of their lives. However, seeing them standing there, surrounded by the nobility, both with bright futures in a stable Kingdom, he could almost convince himself that it was worth every lost memory.

He scanned the crowd further back for someone else, but he was sure that she wouldn't be here. This event would be invitation only and even the favorite concubine of the commanding general of the Ninth Kingdom's armies would not rate to get one. And Azeira had too much sense and good taste to show up where his family would be. This trip had been long and difficult and he had missed her more than he thought possible. It would still be days before he would be able to go to his own home and see her. He hoped later he would get a chance to call.

The sound of boots clicking together to attention and the cry of "Make way for the King!" snapped him out of his thoughts. As Lotor walked through the door everyone, himself included, sank to one knee. He waved them back up nonchalantly. _It's like he's been doing it his whole life_. Cossak thought. He studied the red cloak with the elaborate draping and heavily embroidered border, nearly identical to the one Zarkon had worn, that hung from the new king's shoulders. Until the coronation, it would be his only sign of kingship. Its bright color stood out sharply from the subdued shades around him. In accordance with tradition, Lotor was the only person not wearing mourning.

"Your Majesty." He said inclining his head as the King approached him. It was strange to use all this formality with someone he knew so well and often addressed as 'fucker' in private.

"General Cossak." Lotor returned the greeting in mock seriousness. He looked at the visuals at the crowds of people gathered. If he was impressed his expression didn't show it. He was impassive, just taking it all in. He looked at the screen with Cossak's two children. They were standing and talking to each other. Ioan was showing Shia something on his comm unit.

"Is that Shia? She's grown up nicely, hasn't she?" Lotor asked.

Cossak's head snapped around and he looked at his friend then at the close up of his daughter and back again at Lotor's appreciative stare. He leaned in close and lowered his voice, "Don't even think about it, fucker!"

"I could have you thrown in the Pit for that."

"Good. It'd be better than having to sit next to Dalaa at dinner tonight."

Lotor laughed and shook his head. The more things changed the more they stayed the same.

Cossack's comm chimed. "This is Cossak. Go ahead." He said. "Will do. Stand by." He closed the unit. "Sir, they're in position." He said referring to the elite guard of Red Berets that were Lotor's personal retinue that would escort him and his father's body. "Are you ready?"

"I was born ready for this." Lotor said and strode out of the room with Cossak following behind him.

**2**

"I can't believe you would even think of negotiating with him, Allura!" The redheaded Princess of Pollux said to her cousin via the secure visual in the conference room onboard the _R.P.N Dawnstar_. "Do you know how many of our people had to die to get you that information? How many more will die once his security discovers who helped us?"

"Romelle, that is exactly why I think we should end this…too many people have died already. How many thousands more, millions more innocent lives have to be lost? If there's a chance for peace I think we should at least hear him out." Allura explained.

Romelle bit her tongue, holding back the harsh words she wanted to say_. Allura, you sheltered little idiot. You spent too much time with your tutors and not enough time with your councilors. _ Instead she took a deep breath and regarded her cousin with sad eyes. "I know you mean well. And you want what's best for your people—and mine. But, cousin! Do I need to remind you what contracts and treaties mean to Lotor? Weren't you under a cease fire agreement when he broke into your bedroom and tried to kidnap you?"

Allura didn't answer. The memory of that night still haunted her even after five years. Dame Geneva, her childhood nanny, had locked her in the royal apartments as punishment for spending too much time around the members of the Voltron Force and not enough studying.

Both Coran and Dame Geneva had discouraged her fraternization with the team; they said it was beneath her status and dignity to form exclusive attachments with those in her service.

It had been a horrible mistake. The prince had smashed right through the floor to ceiling windows of her bedroom and she was locked in from the outside. She could still feel his hands as they dragged her away from the door panel. He had crossed the room so quickly she hadn't even had time to hit the panic button. She had tried to fight him and he just laughed and pinned her arms to her sides and then-

"He's exactly like his father! Just in a prettier package! He will say and do whatever is expedient to get what he wants. Don't you remember what he did to me?" Romelle said.

"Yes, Romelle, I remember—"

"Then how could you even suggest this?"

"Because this isn't about us, Romelle! This is about the prosperity of our people and our two kingdoms! I have lost my parents, my friends and nearly the sovereignty of my kingdom! I have spent my whole life fighting with Korrinoth! And so have my people. There is an entire generation with a history of nothing but war and grief. I refuse to lose their future to more violence and destruction!" Allura finally raised her voice.

"Then don't." Romelle said. "Finish this and finish him. You have the support of Pollux, the Alliance and our allies in the Fifth Kingdom. There will never be another opportunity like this."

"I still feel that we should at least talk to his ambassador—"

"You're being naïve, Allura. Nothing Lotor promises can be trusted."

Allura nodded and pressed her lips together. "Have you talked to Bandor about this?"

Romelle started at the mention of her brother, the King of Pollux. "Bandor feels as I do. But you are welcome to discuss this further with him." She said curtly.

"I see." Allura responded in kind.

"I am sorry, cousin. I shouldn't have said that. Perhaps it is best you do talk about this with Bandor, it's hard for me to be objective where Lotor is concerned. You have no idea what he's capable of." Romelle said genuinely contrite.

"It's alright Romelle, I understand. He has done so many things to hurt all of us and it's time that stopped."

"Should I set up a conference between you and Bandor?" Romelle asked_. Or should I just get Coran? _

"Lady Katherine has my schedule; just let her know when he is available." Allura responded. "I think we should do this as soon as possible, though. Korrinoth expects an answer. I'd like to get this settled before they are finished with Zarkon's official mourning."

"I can't believe you delivered Zarkon's body back to him! I wouldn't have done it!" Romelle said. _I would have used it as a bargaining chip._

Allura suppressed a shudder at the thought of Zarkon's mangled remains. She had seen them, forcing herself to look at them to be sure it was really him and he was finally dead.

Although he wasn't burned beyond recognition it was very evident that he had suffered. The shudder she felt wasn't at the memory of his carcass, but at her own callousness_. You bastard! I hope it hurt. God! I hope it hurt! And the last thought you had was knowing that you had been defeated by me. I'm happy you're dead and I hope now you're burning in hell._ Allura thought with a hard sense of satisfaction. Maybe now, her father's ghost would be able to rest easy.

"Then you would have called down the wrath of all Zarkon's allies in the Seventh, First and Third Kingdoms. Not to mention all of Lotor's military support in the Supremacy. They would have looked upon that as the defilement of his body, a direct insult to all of them and an act of war. I didn't want to risk it and I certainly wasn't going to keep him here!" Allura did shudder this time. The idea of Zarkon being on Altea, even dead, was something she couldn't tolerate.

"Well, that's certainly a good reason. I didn't think about that. Ah, that's why you're the diplomat and I handle the business end of things! I'm actually surprised Lotor is going the full seven weeks. I would have thought he couldn't get the crown on his head fast enough!" Romelle laughed.

Allura deliberately ignored the dubious compliment. "We should be glad that he is and didn't launch an attack the moment he heard the news."

"You're right again. I'll pass your request for an audience to Bandor. Take care of yourself, cousin."

" Good bye, Romelle."

The visual went to the sunset seascape that she had set it at when not in use and Allura covered her face with her hands and rubbed her eyes. Sometimes she just hated Romelle. Her beautiful cousin could be so difficult. Hunk and Lance said it was because of her hair color. But Allura couldn't really blame her for how she felt; she had been through hell as Lotor's prisoner. He had raped her. Repeatedly. Ruining her in the eyes of all eligible nobility and preventing Pollux from gaining any alliance through her marriage. Then he had her imprisoned in _Hvei aeh Khall_ when he tired of her.

'_You don't know what he's capable of.' _Her cousin had said._ Actually, I do. _Allura thought. She swallowed a lump in her throat thinking about the night when Lotor had come for her and the door wouldn't open. _'You're mine, n'saiyat.'_ He had said. _'And you always will be.'_ She could feel his weight pinning her down and his hot breath in her ear as if it was still happening.

"No! No, I'm not yours. Not now. Not ever." She said out loud to herself.

In the pit of her stomach she knew her cousin was right. He could not be trusted. No matter what, she could not forget that the new King of Korrinoth and the Drule in general, had a whole different value system of what was fair and honorable than she did.

She picked up her comm and called Keith. She got his message system and clicked it off. She folded her arms on the desk and rested her forehead on them.

**3**

"So, can she be persuaded?" Tabor, Duke of Tyrus and governor general of the Fifth Kingdom asked Romelle as he walked over to her from his seat across the table.

"Of course. But to be honest the choice has already been made and it doesn't matter what she wants. She's barely more than a figurehead anyway. Her Prime Minster has the power until her coronation." Romelle said.

"Why is that?" He asked sitting down beside her without invitation.

"Why is what?" She snapped irritated at his presumptive behavior.

"Why hasn't she ever assumed the throne?" Tabor asked. "Her parents have been dead for more than fifteen years!"

"Ah, we can thank your delusional cousin for that! If she became queen and he was able to force the marriage then Altea would come under the patronage of the Ninth. But as long as the throne stays empty no matter what happens to Allura the sovereignty of Altea is safe." Romelle explained. "I suppose they also hoped that Lotor would lose interest if she didn't come with a kingdom."

"Ah, I see. " He laughed a little. "I guess they under estimated the effect your cousin's pretty face had on him."

"But not on Zarkon. He never did want his son with the little bumpkin." She retorted and turned her face away.

Romelle felt a stab of jealousy at his remark. She was so sick of hearing about her cousin's beauty. Or bravery. Or selflessness, or any of it! She couldn't watch a news report or log on to a fashion site without seeing a visual of Allura_. _ Honestly!_ Five years in a row she's been on DenubianStyle's 'One Hundred Most Beautiful People' list. _Romelle thought. She had been on it more than a few times herself, but not since she escaped from Korrinoth.

That stupid flight suit had even started a trend in jackets! _ It's only because she's blonde. If she was a brunette no one would be gushing over her all the time. _She thought. The idea of Allura with red hair was laughable! _She couldn't handle it._ She thought smugly and unconsciously tossed her head.

She was also sick of the media fanfare over the Voltron force. If a person listened to them, they would think the entire war was fought by the five lions! Little attention was given to unglamorous but integral role of the insurgency on Korrinoth. In fact, there were those that accused them of being little more than terrorists who carried the right flag. _If it wasn't for me and my 'terrorists' those bleeding hearts would all be wearing slave collars by now. _ She understood the need to keep these black ops missions a dirty little secret, but the lack of recognition was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Oh, Romelle, I hope I didn't offend you. It was a thoughtless remark." Tabor had noticed her reaction and placed his hand on her shoulder. _Zarkon never wanted him with you either, you little slut._

She pressed her lips together. "You didn't offend me, believe me. It's her curse, I pity her." She eyed his hand and arched her eyebrow.

He moved his hand from her royal person. "Apologies, your Highness. You know, I may not be a prince, but I am only one step away from the throne."

She gave him a scathing look. "So am I." _As a matter of fact, you repulsive toad, I'm one step away from two thrones._ It was true, if something happened to Bandor she would be queen and with the throne of Altea currently empty she was claimant to that as well. If something should also happen to Allura while piloting the blue lion, well, that would be…tragic.

The door panel chimed and Romelle pressed the button on her consol and allowed entrance to Sven Holgrensson.

"So, are you satisfied, Tabor? Allura is the one still on the fence." The dark haired Swede said not politely to the Duke as he came over to stand behind Romelle.

"Stupid girl. They are right to keep the crown off her he-"

"Do not insult my family, Tabor! It is a disgrace that she does not deserve." Romelle cut him off. She snapped at him not so much because Allura was her cousin, but because she was a sovereign denied her birthright. It was important that such attitudes did not become common place. "And I intend to see the throne of Altea occupied as soon as this war is over."

_I'll bet you do. _Tabor thought. "Again my apologies, Highness, I mis-spoke. "

"So, are we done here? Did you see what you wanted to see?" Sven asked. "Because we all have better things to do besides discuss the ins and outs of the Altean monarchy."

"Yes, indeed. I don't want to be late for my uncle's funeral, do I?" The duke rose, picking up his gloves from the table. "If you can manage to convince your cousin that this is our only option I will be able to provide you with whatever information you need to ensure our victory. Good day to you, Highness." He bowed slightly to Romelle and kissed her hand as he left.

She wiped it off on her lap once he was gone and pursed her lips in disgust. "Arrogant bastard. I'm looking forward to being rid of him."

"Me too. The guy's a worm. But he did give us good intel on Zarkon's attack and Lotor's military capabilities." Sven said and reached down and rubbed her shoulders.

"I just hope Allura comes around quickly. She doesn't want any more dead and I don't blame her. But there will be no peace with Lotor unless she marries him." She observed.

"She knows this. She just needs to hear it from him again and she'll be firing up that lion quick as lightning. Trust me. And if she doesn't, Kogane will. He wants to kill that asshole almost as much as I do." Sven said.

She turned her head and rubbed her cheek on the back of his hand and sighed. _Oh, cousin, please use your heart instead of your head this time._

Indeed, Romelle knew that if Allura negotiated with the new king, he would make her an offer even an idealistic fool like Allura couldn't refuse. And that would just ruin everything.

_That Polluxian whore!_ Tabor said to himself as he stalked back to the hanger where his personal craft was docked. _She acts like she's too good to even be touched by me, a Duke, son of Zarkon's own sister, an actual duchess, married to my father, a prince in his own right. Funny, rumor has it that she had no trouble spreading her legs for my bastard, half-breed cousin at the whisper of a betrothal._

**3**

_She was alone on the soccer field in her dress blues and she heard someone calling her name from far off. _

"_Lolita! Mi perdida! Donde es?"_

_Lolita? Nobody had called her that in years. She looked around trying to find who had spoken but the wind kept blowing her hair into her eyes. It had been sunny but now it was cold and windy. Something hit her on the leg and she jumped. She pushed her hair out of her face to see what it was. It was a soccer ball. She bent down and picked it up looking around for where it had come from. She heard her name again._

"_Lolita! Where have you been? He's looking for you!" _

_She turned around and saw a hooded figure coming toward her using a staff for support. She recognized the old witch immediately. She backed away and then turned to run holding on to the ball. For some reason she knew she had to keep the ball. No matter what. But it was slippery and she kept almost dropping it. She looked at it to see why and then she saw it was bleeding, oozing blood from the seams, and her hands were covered in it. The ball slipped pout of her hands and rolled away. She chased it, forgetting about the old witch, but it was always just ahead of her. _

_Suddenly roots and vines grew out of the ground tripping her and wrapping themselves around her ankles and wrists. They pulled her arms and legs apart tying her down to the ground spread eagle. The wind picked up and blew so hard she couldn't see. If she wasn't tied down she was sure she would have been blown away. _

_Then the wind just stopped and she opened her eyes and she was on the U.S.S Defiant. She stood up and walked along the empty corridors and hatchways looking for something. Then she saw the ball again. She chased it; again it rolled away staying just out of reach. She followed the trail of blood and saw it roll into a room and went in after it, stopping cold when she saw where she was. _

_It was his suite, just as it was when she first saw him. She panicked and tried to turn and run but she tripped on the ball and landed face down. But he wasn't there. She thought she was alone but then she heard a girl singing. She looked up and saw a figure with pixie short blond hair in a silk shift facing away from her. _

_Lexi! It was Lexi! She ran up to her and reached out to touch her but suddenly the girl fell to the ground. Her beautiful face black and purple, her eyes bulging and cloudy in their sockets. The cord__she used to hang herself still tight around her neck. She flung herself down and tried to pull it loose. She __pulled and pulled and finally it started to come loose and Lexi started to breathe again__. Short, ugly gasps that left flecks of blood and foamy saliva on her lips. _

"_Please be ok, Lexi. Please don't be dead anymore. Please." She heard herself say._

_Lexi was trying to say something and kept moving her lips and only a harsh croaking sound came out._

'_Oh, Lexi, your voice! Your beautiful voice! It's gone!' She thought. Finally she could hear words._

"_Wh-whore. D-did you like being his whore?" Lexi asked her cloudy eyes accusing and terrible._

"_No! No! I didn't have a choice!" She backed up crawling on her hands and knees. She shook her head. _

"_Yes, you did. I had choice. You fucked him on my deathbed. Dirty whore!" Again the awful raspy corpse voice. Lexi moved then, a sudden violent spasm and rolled onto her stomach and started to rise._

_Lolita scrambled back and got to her feet and ran for the door. She heard her name again. _

"_Lolita! Come here!" But now it was his voice. She would know it anywhere and it almost stopped her in her tracks but she forced herself not to turn around and to keep running. Down the gangways and finally she ended up in her grandmother's kitchen. She saw the window curtains with their embroidered sunflowers and there was a plate of empanadas on the counter. She reached out to take one but they were swarming with tiny black ants._

"_Lavarse su manos!" she heard her grandmother call from another room. _

_She looked and saw her hands were covered in dried blood. She went to wash at the sink them and turned on the water. She rinsed them under the water and then felt something damp and warm between her legs. She looked down at her trousers and saw that she had bled through the crotch. She stripped them off and took off her panties and started to rinse them out in the sink. The dark stains wouldn't come off and she grabbed the dish soap and started scrubbing them franticly. They still would not come out no matter how hard she tried._

"_Lolita! Are you clean yet?"_

"_No! It won't come off! It won't come off! It won't!" she sobbed still scrubbing._

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" Someone said. She felt herself get picked up and moved and her hands get pulled apart.

"Ma'am! Ma'am? Can you hear me?"

She blinked a little in response.

"Good. I think she's coming around."

She started to open her eyes and could only see blurry colors. Her mouth tasted terrible.

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?" She nodded and tried to swallow. Someone put a straw to her lips and she drank from it. The cool water tasted wonderful. They took the water away and she tried to ask for more but she could only mumble. Someone slipped an ice chip in her mouth and instinctively she sucked on it.

"Don't try to talk just yet. Your vision will come back as soon as the lubricant wears off. Do you understand me?" She nodded again. "We're going to bring you to the recovery room now. Ok?" She felt herself being wheeled somewhere.

As she sat there waiting for her faculties to return she remembered her dream and the ugly stains and blinked back tears. She knew that they weren't on her clothing but on her soul. And no, they would never come off.

5

It was three quarters of a mile from the belly of the shuttle to the door of the palace. All he had to do was walk it and not be assassinated before he got inside. Lotor looked around his eyes settling on the flag draped coffin that held Zarkon's body. He still didn't feel anything when he looked at it. After he had spoken to Captain Seik about the catastrophic losses suffered by his father, he didn't give the man or his death a second thought. All his energy had been directed at how to secure the Kingdom…his Kingdom.

The Ninth Kingdom was still a yet to be established dynasty. Zarkon was a usurper and had taken the kingdom by force from a fledgling prince. It would not be surprising if another warlord or monarch tried to do the same to his son. It had been Lotor's first thought after finding out how badly his father had lost to the Alteans. He was certain that there were those who smelled blood in the water and would come looking to take a bite out of his territories. His sole focus had been to find out who was still an ally and even more importantly who was not.

There had been clandestine meetings via visual on the trip back with several council members in the Supremacy, including Hazar himself. Thankfully they had agreed to back him and provide military support should any of the Kingdoms take aggressive actions. He knew he could count on their allegiance. When he left the Fleet to go back home and take his place as his father's commander he had a sterling reputation. Additionally, since the war with the humans was dragging on, the council did not want the Empire weakened by infighting.

"Sire?" The captain of his personal guard approached him bowing with his fist across his chest.

"Yes?" he asked.

"It's time." The guard said.

Lotor took a last moment to check his appearance straightening his circlet on his brow and arraigning the folds of his cloak before taking his place behind his father's casket. The rest of his guard fell in behind him. And behind them Cossack lead the regular military honor guard. He nodded and gave the signal to begin.

As they approached the ramp he could see the bright overcast sky. The weather was beautiful, it was a good omen. There were no sunny days on Korrinoth and the best one could hope for was an occasional break in the clouds. Then as they descended down he could see the palace spires, with rows of crimson standards waving in a strong breeze. And suddenly his chest tightened as a long buried memory burst forth. _Oh, Gods! Not now!_ Lotor thought as the mental image refused to be banished.

"_Well done! Well Done!" _his father said coming over to him and putting a rough arm around his shoulders, shaking him a little and clapping him on the back knocking him off balance and causing him to stagger into the large man.

How old was he? He couldn't quite remember exactly. Perhaps just before his _Na' reldai'ra_? It was after a swordsmanship competition. It had been here at Galra Castle on a day like today with the red and black standards of the Ninth Kingdom waving. He had won the day, beating competitors two grades higher than himself. His father had been so proud of him, for once praising him in public and bragging about his son.

He couldn't think of another time after that day when his father had done so again. But the prince had done everything in his power to try to hear those words,' well done' once more. They never came and now they never would. His chest tightened again and he swallowed deeply.

The guard had reached the end of the ramp and it was Lotor's cue to walk on ahead. He paused at the casket briefly and as he looked at it he suddenly understood. His father had been the brutal tyrant he was not because of the life he had before he took the throne, but the one after. Those things Zarkon had done to his son were his way of instilling within the prince the hardness he would need to be revered and reviled at the same time yet never waver from his duty to the kingdom.

The crowd was unnaturally quiet, staring in rapt attention at the close up of their new king's profile on the visuals as he faced his father on last time. If there was any evidence of Lotor's inner turmoil, though, it could not be seen on his face. Everyone watching just saw the stoic mask of a warrior and was reassured by his dignified composure. Another skill learned from his father's cruelty. They were his final and most precious gifts. The band around his chest released and he could breathe again. He reached his hand out and placed it on the casket in a gesture of farewell.

_Good bye, father. You can rest easy, I am king now._ And he turned and walked on leaving his father behind. He barely noticed the crowd which sank to its knees in a wave as he passed, boldly striding into the wind with his red king's cloak billowing out behind him.

**Glossary:**

**Kya'shin Kaleh: **Rite of Ascension. A ritualized formal procession where the new monarch accompanies the body of the late monarch on its final trip into Galra Castle.

**Hvei aeh Khall:** trans. Pit of skulls. Oldest and most infamous prison on Galrea. It is little more than an abandoned lazon mine where prisoners are thrown down a shaft and left to fend for themselves until they die. Their bodies are not removed giving rise to the name.

**Na'reldai'ra:** Coming of age ceremony signifying both sexual maturity and adulthood in young men; usually around fifteen years old, although some variation exists between the New and Old kingdoms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

A/N: This chapter contains NC-17 content and description of sexual assault. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

_Edit: Due to some formatting issues concerning missing text, added text and odd punctuation I reposted this chapter with several minor corrections from the final draft that I missed or were 'eaten' when publishing to . Please accept my apologies. _

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 2**

**1**

Allura felt something nudge her arm and looked up to see Cheezy, her _mallu_ staring back at her.

"Hey, you." She said and stroked the soft fur under his chin. "Come to cheer me up?" The creature chirped in response and nuzzled his nose into her hand.

Her comm chimed and she scooped up the small animal put it on her shoulder and checked the ID signature. Keith. She answered it immediately and her heart gave a small leap as his face appeared on the screen. She hoped she would always feel this way.

"Hey sweetheart, sorry I missed you, I was in the simulator. I just saw you called." He said.

"Oh, it's not important, I just finished my conference with Romelle, and well…I just wanted to….Oh, never mind. It's no big deal." She said.

"What happened? What did she say?" _This time. _Keith wanted to add, but kept that to himself.

"Oh, she was upset that I wanted to negotiate first. She feels the same as Thompson and Coran. She thinks that we should attack right away." Allura answered not wishing to delve into the pointed comments made by her cousin.

"I suppose she was her usual charming self?" He asked.

"Of course, she was in rare form today. She just said some things that really pissed me off. " Allura explained using some of the Terran slang that she picked up from Lance.

"You, ok?"

"Yes… I'm used to it by now."

Keith clenched his jaw he knew she wasn't telling him everything. "Yeah? You sure you're ok?"_ One of these days I'm going to let your precious cousin know exactly what I think of her and her royal attitude problem. _He wanted to say it, but this was neither the time nor the place. He understood that Romelle had been through a lot of trauma as Lotor's prisoner, but hadn't they all?

"Yes, I just missed you. I feel better now." She admitted, feeling silly because she had just seen him a few hours ago.

"I miss you too. Do I get to see you again today?" he asked.

"Maybe after dinner? Coran wants to talk with me again about the Ambassador from Korrinoth."

"Is he still arguing with you about that?"

"Yes, he is." She exhaled. "I already told him what my decision was. I'm not letting those bodies stay here or keeping any prisoners." Allura said. She and Coran were at complete odds about what to do about the Drule casualties and prisoners of war.

He had been furious with her when she and the Voltron force had located Zarkon's corpse and secured it aboard a small transport ship and towed it into space. She placed it in orbit around Altea and hailed Captain Seik with its location and instructions that he had twenty hours to retrieve it and leave Altean territory for good. All without Coran's knowledge or consent. Now he did not want to allow a Korronite vessel back into Altean airspace, even one that would be on a 'humanitarian' mission to bring home their dead.

She also knew he wanted to hold the prisoners as bargaining collateral for a prisoner exchange. The princess wanted no such thing. Zarkon had taken so many of Altea's people as slaves that offering to exchange the few hundred soldiers they had wouldn't amount to much. She reasoned that she would have a better chance getting more of Altea's citizens back if she behaved magnanimously from the beginning. The gesture combined with her personal return of Zarkon's body would be more effective than a one to one prisoner swap. She knew it was manipulative but when it came to her people she was not above using Lotor's feelings for her to her full advantage. She had practice enough doing that in armed combat with him over the skies of Altea. She had come to depend on his inability to fire upon her as an additional defense of her planet.

"You know you're doing the right thing. Don't let him tell you that it will be interpreted as weakness to the enemy. Remind him that they're the ones who asked for your permission to return. Your permission, not his. " He emphasized.

"I know. It's just hard sometimes. He's all the family I left since Nanny—"her voice broke and she was unable to finish the sentence. The death of Dame Geneva had been a hard blow for Allura. She felt guilty that she grieved more for her nurse than she did for her own mother, the memory of whom had faded in the trauma of those early years. That they both had died protecting her was an acute source of guilt for the princess.

Her mother perished in Zarkon's throne room when she refused to give away her daughter's location after being tortured for hours and watching her husband die. Dame Geneva was killed using her own body as a shield to stop a lazon blast meant for the princess. Allura had held her while she died. Unlike in holofeatures there were no last words and heartfelt 'I love you' goodbyes. Just Allura pleading with her to hang on while the woman gasped wide eyed for breath as she choked to death on her own blood.

Geneva had had a hard life as the Princess' guardian. She had gone from the luxury of a palace to living in underground catacombs when Allura's parents were captured. She had hid the girl herself for nearly a year before she had dared to trust anyone with the knowledge that the young princess had survived the attack on the castle. The years that followed had not been easy ones. They had lived with starvation, sickness and the constant threat of capture by Zarkon. Things improved after the Alliance sent the five pilots and had agreed to station troops to defend Altea. Then Lotor arrived and began his obsession with the princess and the poor woman's suffering returned multiplied exponentially. The prince was every nightmare the poor woman could have imagined.

Keith sighed and swallowed back a lump in his throat. "I miss her, too. We all loved her. She was like a mother to us."

It was true; she had become a surrogate mother to them, despite her overbearing ways. The tough old bird never seemed to do anything but criticize. But there was a lot of love in her gruffness. The woman who told Keith 'I'll cuts off your nuts and feeds them to the ducks!' if she ever caught him looking at Allura 'that way' again, was the same woman who sat by his bedside day and night when he had been critically injured fighting Lotor in hand to hand combat. He also couldn't remember a time when they had come back from a mission and they hadn't had a hot meal and a clean room waiting for them. That was all Nanny's doing. They were 'her boys' as she liked to say when she thought no one was listening.

"It's just so hard…all of this, you know? And I'm so tired of fighting." Allura said, her weariness evident in her tone.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. I am too. I'm here for you, you know that, right? Whatever you need, ok? I love you." He said feeling helpless and wishing he could go to her right now and hold her. She was so strong. She had withstood tragedies that would have driven most people over the edge years ago and still maintained her spirit and grace. She was as resilient as a diamond and that was what worried him. If the right blow was struck, she wouldn't break she would shatter. He would do anything in his power to stop that from happening.

"Thank you, I guess I just needed to talk. " She said.

"Feel better now?"

"Yes, lots. I love you, too. I'll see you later, ok?" She answered and ended the communication. They couldn't afford to have long conversations unless the comm records confirmed suspicions about the true nature of their relationship. There were enough rumors and public speculations in the media already.

"What was that about?" Lance McClain asked Keith turning to him from his seat at the simulator control consol.

"Oh, nothing, Allura just got done with her conference with Romelle." Keith answered.

"How'd that go?"

"Fine, I guess. She gave Allura a hard time about the negotiations. She wants to go war with Korrinoth immediately. Surprise, surprise." Keith said and pulled up the download from the simulator session.

"You know that negotiating is only going to buy us some time with ol' blue, right?" Lance said.

"Yeah, I know." Keith said not looking up from the download.

"What Lorn said was dead on. Whatever terms that motherfucker lays out are going to hinge on one thing. He's gonna want Allura."

"Damn it! You don't think I fucking know that?" Keith snapped at his friend and tossed the data pad down on the consol so hard it bounced off and went clattering to the ground. He leaned over and gripped the edge of the table hard trying regain control of his temper.

"Hey, man, chill! Shit. I'm not trying to start anything." Lance scooted over in his chair and picked up the pad and put it back on the table.

"Fuck!" Keith cursed and raked his fingers through his hair. "Dude, you're right. I know it. I know that's what he's going to want. Before, Zarkon was stopping him from doing anything but kidnapping her. He couldn't even offer her marriage. But now he's going to make her an offer she'd have to be crazy to refuse." Keith said and picked up the data pad again and recalled the screen.

"You know she's going to say no, right? She knows whatever he says is total bullshit. There's no way she'll agree to marrying him. Not for anything. Not after what happened that night." Lance reasoned.

Keith looked at him solemnly and nodded. He knew exactly what night his friend referred to. God only knows what else that bastard would have done if Shorty hadn't been able to over-ride the door panel. The son of a bitch had reprogrammed lock codes. He probably would have gotten away with her. With effort he pushed the memory of Allura's torn dress and shattered expression from his mind so he could think rationally.

"No, she won't. I know that too. But when she says no, he's going to come for her and now he has no one to answer to. As much as I hate to say it, Coran, Thompson, Lorn…hell, even Romelle are right. The only way to stop him is to kill him." Keith said.

"Then why encourage her to negotiate with him then?" Lance asked.

"Because according to this," Keith said and held up the data pad, "we're going to need twice as many boots on the ground to take Korrinoth and hold it than they're sending. And we need to stall for the time to get them here."

2

Whatever peace Lotor had made with his father at his burial ceremony was over when he saw the true state of the Ninth Kingdom's government and finances. His father had used cronyism and bribery to control the nobility and stack the council in his favor. Zarkon had then used his authority to set them against one another in competition for status and royal favor. Lotor suspected that his father had been trying to keep them from forming allegiances with each other instead of only to him. If he hadn't been such a bastard he wouldn't have had to. Lotor knew he had few supporters in the current council. The first private meeting with his new ministers had been nothing less than infuriating.

"You mean to tell me that the Kingdom is bankrupt?" Lotor shouted as he came to his feet at the head of the gleaming conference table.

"Not necessarily, your Majesty. We have tax revenue expected and reparations from the Fifth Kingdom—" Krieg had started to say.

"The Fifth Kingdom? The Fifth is part of this Kingdom, you idiot! It would be like taking money from one pocket and putting it in another and calling yourself rich! And they are already so heavily taxed that half of their people end up in tenure because they can't pay!" Lotor pushed his chair out of his way from the table with a loud scrape and began to pace the length of the room.

Although he was a warmaster, economics had been part of his elective course work at the Academy and was very familiar to him. It was no secret that the new king had put the knowledge to good use. Through careful investments and real estate purchases, he had amassed a fortune while still an officer in the Supremacy. His personal net worth was rumored to rival Zarkon's own. It was a subject that had worried and annoyed his father greatly.

Zarkon had feared that his son, having the financial and military backing, would attempt a coup. The old king never could find out for certain if Lotor had enough money to fund his own army. Much of his son's wealth was funneled through dummy corporations owned by off planet venture capital firms that funded and insured private exploration expeditions. Otherwise known as pirates. And they didn't like to discuss their profit margins or shareholder returns.

As best as Lotor could understand from his father's hand selected 'experts,' none of whom had ever owned a business or had any education in finance that was not purely theoretical, they had been trying to prevent inflation by reducing the actual amount of currency in circulation.

The unintended consequence that none of these idiots had foreseen was that it had resulted in an economic depression. It did not have as visible an impact as it would have in other Kingdoms because all of Korrinoth's major industries had military contracts and a steady purchaser in the Crown. However, many smaller companies failed without access to funding and local production of goods dropped off sharply. This meant that most consumer products had to be imported from other Kingdoms and they faced high import tariffs as well as strict rationing for the common citizen.

Unemployment was also at epic proportions. Most industries relied on slave labor and only management was staffed by free citizens, who paid over half of their salaries in income taxes. Those paid by corporations were far less usurious. Additionally, the council had abolished property taxes on slaves and the income produced by their labor. This resulted in extremely high profit margins and large gains for the shareholding nobles, including Lotor himself.

To pay for the war with Altea and his father's endless quest for new territory they had raised property taxes throughout the Kingdom substantially. Currently they were so high that most of Korrinoth's people chose to live in state funded tenements. The waiting lists were decades long in many places and those that could not afford to pay the outrageous rents for private housing or fell behind in their payments were pressed into service to the Crown until their debt was worked off. This was known as tenure. It was supposed to be a temporary situation, but most of the people who found themselves in it knew they would never get out. The divide between the rich and the poor had` become an enormous chasm connected by a dwindling middle class that constantly hovered on the edge of ruin.

If it wasn't for his father's ability to appease the masses with social programs and entitlements Lotor was sure there would have been an uprising such as the one he had just put down on Nemon. But state sponsored religious celebrations, education, news media, as well as the weekly arena games had kept most people distracted and compliant enough that they didn't know or care what Zarkon was doing. Anyone who had the bad sense to question the system found themselves in a prison cell and eventually got their answer from a robeast.

Lotor walked to the end of the room and stared out the window at the darkness trying to calm his temper and focus his thoughts. Night on Korrinoth was absolute. No light from the planet's two moons penetrated the cloud cover at all. The inky blackness was only punctuated by the gleam of the phosphorescent creatures that hunted at night.

He admired the flickering pattern of a raptor's wings as it circled overhead. They suddenly blacked out as it dove to catch its prey only to erupt again seconds later into a burst of shimmering light as the animal's talons snatched its meal out of the sky, which also pulsed and glowed as it died. He continued to watch as it flew off into the distance. He observed the blinking lights outside in the night and imagined there was a hidden meaning in their random patterns. He remembered doing this as a child. Pretending they were stars and dreaming about going to the Academy and becoming a pilot in the Supremacy's army, before his father had proclaimed him his heir.

"Majesty, there are also the loans from the Seventh Kingdom to consider." Lord Ghar, the chief finance minister said. By occupation he was a Tyrusian _favi _ judge. He had obtained his post through a generous gift of a profitable estate and breeding farm of the animals to Zarkon.

Startled out of his reverie by this new piece of information Lotor turned back around, his red cloak brushing against his ankles. He fingered the hilt of his sword and contemplated loping off the head of the man who spoke. He decided against it, thinking that he should wait until he found a suitable replacement.

"Loans? Merla has loaned us money?" He asked and clenched his jaw. Of course his father had to borrow money. How else did he pay for all this? The Kingdom brought in little revenue from outside its own boarders.

"Yes, Majesty. She has expressed concern through her ambassador that you will not use the money as wisely as the old king did."

"She expressed what?" Lotor asked his nostrils flaring at the insult.

Ghar swallowed uncomfortably. "Queen Merla's ambassador has brought a message—"

"Give it to me." Lotor snapped walked back over to his place and sat down. "And I want the numbers on these fucking loans…now."

"Y-yes, Sire." Ghar said and retrieved the cards with the information on it from the stacks in front of him. A page delivered them to the king on bended knee.

Lotor took them and down loaded the files into his comm unit. He tapped open the holoscreen and his eyes narrowed as he began reading. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Unable to continue he closed it out and looked around the table at his ministers_. Liars, fools and greedy, self serving backstabbers all of them,_ he thought. He knew they would not support any of the changes that needed to be made to restore the kingdom to solvency and he would create a posse of enemies in their dismissal. _Oh, father! You ignorant fool! What did you do? Why did you never consult me? Were you so desperate for control that you had to have it at any price? _ He frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Sire, if you need help understanding I can—" Ghar began and then let his words trail off when Lotor fixed a scathing glare at him.

"Get out! All of you. " Lotor said.

"Sire?" Kreig asked.

"I said leave me!" Lotor bellowed at the men assembled.

They stood hastily and gathering their belongings mumbled obeisance's and bowed out of his presence.

Lotor didn't even look at them as they left, his mind already focused on the problem of Queen Merla of the Seventh Kingdom.

He picked up his comm unit and recalled the screen. Yes, he had read it correctly. Under the current situation it would take a generation to repay Merla and all the while she would have the right to adjust interest rates on the loans and request military support for the Seventh Kingdom. She could demand that he send troops at his own expense to protect her Kingdom's interests, plunging him deeper into debt and making it impossible to pay her back. She could collapse the economy at a whim.

He knew the initial steps that needed to be taken to start rebuilding the economy, but he needed the expert advice of professionals not politicians and panderers. He closed out of the screen and called a page over.

"Majesty, how can I serve you?" The young man kneeled and his voice sounded a little nervous.

"Get my secretary in here and tell him to get Gareth Raible from Lochlan and Saxe onscreen." Lotor ordered. Lochlan and Saxe was his primary personal investment firm and Gareth was one of their top analysts as well as a friend. If anyone would know how to clean up this mess it was him.

Lotor got up and returned to the window as he waited for his secretary. The prince smirked as he thought of the magenta haired woman. _Arrogant, manipulative, bitch._ He thought. _Not use it as wisely? _He almost laughed._ Oh no! I will not be using it at all! You'll have to find another way to acquire my throne than to buy it out from under me. I'm not the pretty fool my father wanted you to believe I was. Nice try though._ He knew she had been scheming to get her hands on the Ninth Kingdom since before he returned from his deployment with the Supremacy. She had thought his father was an ignorant brute but the old man had always been one step ahead of her.

Although Queen Merla was a legendary beauty throughout the Supremacy, she was getting up in years and was becoming desperate for an heir of her own. She had been actively seeking a union between the Kingdoms by marriage. Not with the prince and heir to the throne, but with Zarkon himself. A union between the Seventh and the Ninth would have been an act of amazing strategy. Creating a power block of the Seventh, Ninth and Fifth Kingdoms resulting in merging one third of the territory of the Empire under one crown.

It was painfully obvious to the prince, his father and everyone else that the warrior queen had designs on taking the Ninth Kingdom for her own rule once Zarkon had died. Zarkon being the manipulator he was had toyed with the woman, leading her on with advances of his own only to switch the bait with a contractual offer of his son. Which she declined to Lotor's immense relief. Not only did he not find her attractive, but the queen had special abilities. It was rumored that she had mixed blood, possibly Wyvern blood, which let her see into the minds of others and control them.

Lotor wondered what had caused his father to trust the queen so much. He clearly remembered when his father had rebuffed her ambassador's proposal of marriage. "Tell Merla that I'm not interested in a queen who has more women in her harem than I do. If she wants to sit on the throne of the Ninth Kingdom she can sit next to my son. He's pretty enough that she won't know the difference. They can queen it together." The memory of how the court had laughed uproariously at his expense still angered him and by association so did the queen of the Seventh Kingdom. He had instantly disliked her without even meeting her. But, to be fair, when he did finally meet her she gave him no reason to change his mind.

Lotor could not imagine being married to a woman who could read his mind and influence his thoughts. Implant ideas in his head so subtly that he would never know if they were his own or not. He was not alone in his opinion. This was most likely the reason the beautiful and wealthy queen had never been able to find a husband. And also the fact that she also very openly preferred the company of women to that of men. It was well known that no men were allowed in her primary residence, leaving little speculation as to why she had never conceived a child, husband or not.

However, he could, much to the consternation of everyone who knew him, imagine being married to the human princess of Altea. Her father had been a traitor and an enemy of his Kingdom, her one planet was in ruins, she had no wealth, no throne, nothing but a pretty face. The union would provide no advantage to the Ninth Kingdom. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She did have the most powerful and technologically advanced weapon of war the Supremacy had ever seen at her command. And a very, very pretty face. So, perhaps Lotor's interest with her wasn't that confusing after all.

Thinking of Allura calmed him. Now that his father was dead there was no one stopping him from taking her as his bride. When he had first returned from his deployment he had vowed that he would conquer Altea and bring her back to Korrinoth in golden chains. She was his property by right as spoils of war. Actually, she was his father's property, but the old man had told him that if he could take her he could have her. She would be a valuable addition to his harem. He had heard that she had grown up to be quite pretty, but that hadn't mattered as much as her status as a captive. He would be one of the few war masters in the Empire that could boast of keeping an actual princess as a concubine.

He still remembered his surprise when he first saw her again and she ordered him off her planet. The plump, awkward child that he had last seen ten years ago was gone and in her place was an ethereal beauty, the kind that legends are written about. Even in anger she had been lovely. He had been struck dumb by the glacial blue of her eyes. They had shot daggers at him but he didn't care. Everything about her was perfect and he had vowed to himself that he would do anything to possess her.

When he had returned to Korrinoth he searched through his things until he found it. He had not even been sure that he had kept it after all these years, but there it was, a small scrap of faded black silk with the initials L A intertwined in red and gold embroidery. It had been sent to him years ago in the days when Altea and Korrinoth were on much better terms. The stitches were childish and clumsy in places but the maker had put a lot of though and care into the creation. He had been uncharacteristically touched by the effort and that was what had caused him to keep it. He knew when he found it that it had been a sign from the goddess _Khiori_ that Allura was part of his destiny.

So many things had changed in the years that followed that day and now he longed for her to be far, far more than a pretty pet. He was uncertain when it happened, but he had fallen completely in love with the princess. He thought that perhaps he had always had a tender spot for the orphaned girl, which had grown into something more during the years of war. It was during reflection on those battles that he had come to respect her as an adversary. Her courage was beyond measure. She had no army, no allies and only those five rejects sent to her by the Alliance. The robot Voltron was a powerful weapon but eventually Altea would fall. Yet she remained defiant. She would not surrender and kneel before his father. It drove the old man crazy. How could he not love her for that alone! She was_ ta'leh shai liora n'khi_.

He had been raised into a culture of honor in battle, loyalty to your fellows and death before dishonor and this slender girl embodied all the traits that had been instilled in him as officer of the Supremacy and a prince of the Empire. She was _Ki' Liorah_, come to life and no other woman could compare to her.

He had stopped seriously trying to kidnap Allura once he suspected that his father's motive in allowing him to pursue the princess and bring her back to Korrinoth was so that Zarkon could finally be in a position to kill her. Zarkon, regardless of his promises would never have allowed his son to marry her.

Lotor knew that his only hope was to wait the old man out if he could and to find another way to claim the princess for his own. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a length of pink satin. He rubbed the smooth material between his fingers before he brought it to his nose and smelled Allura's faint yet distinctive scent. He felt himself stir at the memory of how he had acquired this particular trophy.

He had come looking for the princess during a negotiated cease fire. He had taken his personal cruiser, his Phayteon, and had traveled into Altean airspace using a commercial transit code pretending to be one of the many corporate investors that had come to make their fortune rebuilding Altea. It had been ridiculously easy. Getting close to the castle had been harder but the cloaking that the witch had developed and installed worked perfectly. He had been able to get right up to it and hover outside her window. He had only hoped to find her apartments, to check if the schematics he had received on the new castle were accurate.

He knew by the time of night that she would most likely be asleep in her bed. He was surprised to find her still awake at her desk doing administrative work. He could see her leaning forward on her elbows and the portrait collar of her rose colored gown exposing the graceful line of her shoulder. Suddenly he had an impulsive thought, an idea so reckless it made perfect sense. She was alone and it was an opportunity that he could not resist.

A single laser blast had melted the glass of the massive windows and he was able to leap from the ship right into her bedroom. She had hit the floor instinctively shielding herself from the explosion as sirens began blaring the alarm that the castle had been breeched.

"Allura!" He had called to her over the noise. She scrambled to her feet when she heard his voice.

" Lotor! What the-? Get out!" She ordered and ran for the door hampered by the heavy fabric of her gown . He caught her easily before she could reach the panic button which would open the door and call her guard. She struggled against him as he slipped the key card that Yoi had made for him into the lock and overrode the system. Finally he had a few minutes alone with his beloved.

"Let me go! Damn it, Lotor! Stop!" She cursed and struggled as he dragged her away from the door. He had meant to take her to the bed but she tripped him and managed to get free. But not for long, he grabbed her by her heavy skirts and tackled her to the ground.

"You'll never get away with this!" She gasped and swung a fist at him just grazing his nose as she tried to roll away.

"Yes, I will." He laughed and grabbed her wrist, flipped her over and pushed her back down.

He used his weight to pin her face down on the marble floor and began to pull up her skirts. She had panicked then, like they all did. She tried to get away by crawling, bringing her knees under her, it only made it easier for him to spread her legs open. His thighs pressed onto the underside of her skirts keeping her tethered in place no matter how hard she struggled. He heard the urgent calls on her comm unit and the intercom asking her to respond and if she was hurt.

"Please don't do this! Oh God! No!" She begged him and it pained him to hear her fear. He pulled her arms down to her sides and wrapped his one arm around her pinning them there and lifting her up a little off the hard floor so he didn't crush her.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" She was sobbing now.

"Shhh…N'saiyat, this is the only way. You'll see." He whispered in her ear as his other hand slid up the smooth skin of her thigh committing the feel of her skin into his memory. He reached her round tight buttocks and tore her panties off. She writhed under him but it made no difference. He unfastened his trousers and pulled out his cock. Even with the door locked he knew he didn't have much time. He probed with his fingers for her opening and finding it he began to guide himself into her.

"Please don't! Lotor please! No! Not like this!"

He almost stopped at her anguished plea. Then there was the sound of pounding on the door and male voices shouting outside. He only had a few more minutes. They still didn't know he was in here with her otherwise they would have come right through the window like he did. This was his opportunity to make her his forever no matter what else happened.

He held his breath as he pushed deep into her, almost unable to believe what he was doing. He felt her tight warm flesh stretch and she screamed as he tore through her maidenhead. He paused savoring the moment and then began thrusting into her. He hadn't wanted it to be this way, regretting that it had to be so rushed and harsh. But he had accomplished his goal.

He came quickly out of necessity and excitement. Later there would be plenty of time to indulge himself and introduce the weeping girl underneath him to the pleasures of sex, he reasoned.

"Now you're mine, n'saiyat. And you always will be." He kissed her tear stained cheek and pulled out. He looked at the blood on his cock and on the fabric of her skirt with satisfaction, knowing for sure he was her first. He rocked back on his heels, straightened his clothing and glanced at the door. The lights on the panel flared on again. He had to leave. Now.

Allura lay silent and trembling and he pulled her skirts down to cover her and gently lifted her by the shoulders to a sitting position. She slumped forward a little and stared blankly at the floor. He looked at her for a moment and considered taking her with him and then he thought of his father. No, he couldn't take the risk. When Allura came to Korrinoth it would be as his wife. He kneeled beside her and ran his hand through her hair and pulled the pink ribbon she had tied it back with free and ran for the window as the door slammed open.

**Glossary: **

**Mallu:** a small fur bearing rodent native to Altea that hunts other small animals, particularly reptiles and birds. It's known for its feisty temperament and once domesticated makes a very loyal companion animal. Resembles a cross between an ermine and a mongoose.

**Favi**: large four legged horned, cloven hoofed animal used for primarily for riding. It is known for its rebellious and willful temperament. Two varieties: a one horned species that originated in forest ecosystems and a two horned from mountain regions. Ranges in color from pure white to dark bay and occasionally black. Similar in size to the Terran moose.

**Khiori **_- (female) _The name of the goddess of victory. One who eternally triumphs over all others. Also the larger and first rising double sun of Sha' Mara, the home planet of the Third Kingdom.Also sometimes _ Kahs Khiori Nehru_ _(formal)_ Literal translation "Ascending Sun" Can be loosely translated in Terran as "the first light bringer."

**Khi Liorah: **_(female)_lit. trans."The Dawn Star."Female figure of religious myth. She was a mortal woman who challenged the Goddess Khiori for the right to claim the body of a fallen warrior. In some translations the warrior is her lover; in others her son. Khiori accepts the challenge and slays the woman but admires her bravery in the face of certain death. She takes pity on both the woman and the warrior and turns them into stars that appear to shine brightest just before dawn.

The legend has its origin from the two actual celestial bodies that appear in the low western sky of Sha'mara that are actually moons that are not visible until just before dawn when they reflect the light of the rising double suns.

It is the origin for the saying _"Ta'leh shai liora n'khi"_ (literal translation: Brave like stars at dawn.) And also the highest military honor that can be received, _Ni'_ _Khas Liorah. _ It has always been awarded posthumously. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comics and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way.**

_A/N I would just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed and added this story to your favorites and story alerts. I am truly flattered and your support is very, very much appreciated. I promise not to take so long to update future chapters! Thanks Again! XOXO_

_-DB_

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 3**

**-1-**

He switched gears and leaned into the turn his knee scraping the ground as centrifugal force pulled him and the bike toward the asphalt. 285 kilometers per hour. That was as fast as his contract would allow him to go but he itched to push the throttle down and test the machine's limits. The Tomahawk* was the fastest racing bike built and currently held the land speed record at 675 kph. Sure, they could go faster, but no one actually had done it without crashing. The dare devil in him desperately wanted to give it a try. He tightened his grip and thought about just blowing up the straight away. He denied the urge. Keith would fucking kill him for taking the risk. He saw his mark approaching and slowed down and slid dramatically to stop for the twenty seventh time. Literally. He planted his foot on the taped 'x' and took off his helmet with a flourish.

"Cut!" The director yelled. "That was perfect! Can you do it again?"

Darrell Stoker, or Shorty, as his friends called him, wanted to punch the man in the throat. _How many times do I have to do this?_ He thought rubbing a hand over the two day growth of stubble on his chin. It was hot and he had been out here since before daybreak.

No amount of money was worth putting up with this shit! He looked at the bike and thought about the terms of his contract and changed his mind. They had agreed to pay him five million credits over the course of two years along with a custom built bike of his own. With his other two endorsements he would be able to retire very comfortably. If he lived that long. So, truthfully, it was enough money to put up with a lot of shit. If he had to drive around twenty seven more times he'd do it for the ridiculous amount of cash the company had agreed to pay him to endorse their line of street bikes. He'd put up with a whole lot more for a whole lot less.

"Yeah, sure." He said wearily and began to put his helmet back on and started the bike back up.

When the Voltron Force had resigned their commissions with the Alliance to stay and pilot the lions and protect Altea from certain destruction they had agreed not to take any salaries until the Kingdom was secure. He remembered Coran telling them quite frankly that there was no money to pay them. He could promise them room and board, and sometimes not even that. They had agreed anyway. The chivalrous and heroic gesture had bit them in the ass more than a few times when they found out that Coran had not been joking. Food and energy shortages were common in those early days.

The story had been reported on one of the military newsreels and gotten picked up by the Associated Press. Within weeks of their first victory over Zarkon they were swarmed with reporters contacting them for interviews. Altea's struggle against Korrinoth was suddenly the biggest news in the Denubian. There had been a documentary produced about it called _"Why we Fight"_ and their valiant struggle against Zarkon's armies was compared to the Spartans last stand at Thermopile. What was once a forgotten backwater planet system getting invaded by slave ships became a galvanizing symbol of the fight for survival against the Drule.

It had the effect of creating instantaneous fame for the five pilots in Alliance planets. It wasn't long after that the offers to sell their stories had poured in. That they wouldn't do, for both security and personal reasons. But the princess saw no reason they shouldn't benefit from their fame. Her Kingdom certainly did. Investors poured in from everywhere with offers to rebuild and re-establish trade relations. She had made Coran agree that they could use their positions to make their own money. Especially since the crown wasn't paying them. Currently, they did draw standard military pay and had a pension, but it wasn't much. Not compared with the sacrifices they made.

"Mr. Stoker?" one of the assistants approached him as he was resting under a canopy between takes. She was a pretty platinum blonde with hot pink streaks in her bangs and a couple more poking out in her ponytail. "Can I get you something to drink? Some water? _Celera_?"

"Uh, sure, whatever will be fine. As long as it's cold." He smiled shyly. He always felt awkward around pretty girls. He would have thought he would have gotten over it by now after piloting the green lion with the Voltron force for nearly six years. The same fame that brought six figure corporate endorsements also brought with it many unspoken privileges. While he had no problem taking advantage of multi-billion credit corporations, people were another thing entirely. Women especially. He felt bad because he never knew if they wanted to be with him or if they just wanted to be with the green lion pilot. He almost wished he could be more like Lance, who didn't care either way.

The girl came back with a glass of ice and a can of _Celera _."Did you want this in a glass?"

"Uh, no. No thanks the can is fine. I love this stuff." He said smiling again. She smiled back and their fingers brushed as she handed it to him. He almost wanted to brag a little and say he had an endorsement with the soft drink company too, but he would feel like too much of an ass if he did. Lance would have done it, and Shorty found himself wishing once more for more of his teammate's bravado.

Just as he was about to say something the make-up artist came up with her case. She was middle aged and had a businesslike manner. "Excuse me, Mr. Stoker, um, sorry," she said looking pointedly back and forth between them, "but I need to get you ready for your close ups."

"Oh, ok." He said taking a sip of his drink and the make up artist plopped a straw in it pulled out her airbrush it and adjusted the settings.

"Let me know if you need anything else." The blonde said as she walked away.

" Oh ok, yeah, I will." He said after her and she turned and looked back for a second, tossed her hair and smiled. He grinned. "Is she-?"

"Close your eyes, please. And yes, she's flirting with you." The make-up artist said matter of factly and started spraying.

Two hours later they had finally called it day and he had just finished showering and was getting dressed in one of the trailers. He had to wash his face three times trying to make sure all the make up was off. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" He called pulling his T-shirt over his head. As he poked it through the neck opening he saw the blonde coming up the steps.

"Oh! Oh God! I'm sorry! I thought that I heard you say come in—" She stammered seeing that he was still getting dressed.

"Oh geez! I did! I did say come in. I'm sorry. I just—I dunno-" He said turning away from her and quickly buttoning his pants and buckling his belt. God ! He was an idiot! _This is what I get for living with guys for six years._

When he turned around she was still there on the steps looking down. "Ok, I'm decent." He said and she looked up.

"Um, You left your comm on the set. It's been ringing. I thought I'd bring it to you in case it was… top secret stuff or something." She said stepping into to trailer holding up the unit.

"Oh, thank you! Yeah, I kind of need this thing." He said walking over and taking it from her and checked the signature. It was from Lance. It was work related but non-emergency status was displayed.

"Um, Mr. Stoker? Uh..I'm not supposed to do this but, um—" she stammered nervously. "Could I get your autograph ? For my brother…you're his favorite."

"Oh yeah, sure, no problem." He was mildly disappointed, he thought she was going to ask him something else. She pulled out a magazine card with one of his Celera sports drink ads in it and pulled up the page. When he saw it he was glad that he hadn't said anything about this endorsement. Then he really would have looked like an ass. She offered him a stylus so he could sign.

"Um, his name is Trevor." She said and he started signing. When he was done she pulled up another page "Oh, I almost forgot…could you sign one for my sister too? She thinks you're hot."

"Really? That's always nice to hear. Ok, what's her name?"

"Caroline." She said.

Just as he started signing his comm rang again. Lance again. It must be important. He answered it as he finished writing 'To Caroline.'

"Hey what's up?"

"Skipper wants to know when you're going be done." Lance said. Shorty held up his finger indicating to the girl that he needed a moment alone.

"Do you want me to wait outside?" She whispered.

"No, no I'll go…be right back." He said shaking his head inadvertently getting her in the background of the visual as he walked past her.

"Whoa! Who's the hottie? Look who's getting trailer service!" Lance exclaimed when he got outside.

"Dude! Really, man? Why do you have to be that way? No, it's nothing like that! She's just getting an autograph for her brother." Shorty shook his head.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Trust me dude, they don't come in your trailer for autographs."

"You're a fucking pig. You know that?" Shorty said laughing and shaking his head again.

"It's gift. What can I say?" Lance answered without remorse.

"What did Keith want me for?" Shorty asked getting back on the original subject.

"Oh, we need to have a meeting and he wanted to know when you were headed back."

"Yeah, well I'm just about done. Just have to sign some paper work. I should be back at the castle in about an hour." Shorty told him.

"Alright, cool. I'll tell him."

"Ok, later."

Hey, one more thing..."

"Yeah, what?"

"Get that hottie's number and ask her to meet you for a drink later. Oh, and ask her if she's got a cute friend for me!" Lance said.

Shorty just hung up on him and went back inside. As he climbed the stairs he got a good look her pert backside. Maybe Lance was right, he should ask her out.

"So, everything ok? We're not under attack are we?" She joked and leaned over the counter.

"No, no… nothing like that. But, don't worry I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He said trying not look at the cleavage exposed by her white tank top as he finished signing the picture.

"Thank you, Mr. Stoker—"

"It's Darrell, my friends called me Shorty." He corrected.

"Oh, well, thanks—Shorty. I really appreciate this. They're going to be thrilled." She said smiling.

"Hey, my pleasure." He smiled back_. Ask her! Damn it! Just ask her!_ He thought.

She hesitated then turned to go. As she reached the bottom of the stairs he stopped her.

"Hey, um—" He started.

"Yes?" She turned to him.

"Um, hey, would you like to get a drink later? With me?" He asked uncertainly.

"What? Oh, yeah! I'd love that!" She answered smiling.

Well, yeah, um, great! Let me get your number and I'll give you a call later. I have to be in a meeting, but it shouldn't last too long."

"That's ok. Yeah, I've got some stuff to do back at the hotel anyway. Just call me when you're through." She said and gave him her number.

As he typed it into his phone and thought of Lance. He was right about this as always. "Hey you don't have a friend you could bring in case my buddy wants to come out too?"

"Your buddy?" She seemed uncertain.

"Lance McClain, the Red Lion pilot." He explained and her face lit up in recognition.

"Yeah, I could find someone to bring." She said and turned to leave again.

"Ok, cool , I'll see you later." He said then as he went to save her number he realized he didn't know her name. "Hey, I never got your name."

"Oh, yeah." She looked down and pressed her lips together and blushed as pink as her highlights. "It's, uh, Caroline."

**-2-**

"His Grace, Duke of Nemon has arrived, your Majesty." Queen Merla's secretary informed her as she sat on the terrace overlooking her private gardens.

"Excellent. Show him in." Merla ordered. She had been expecting Tabor and had dressed carefully for the occasion. She wore her hair down set with deep waves and a dark blue, silk chiffon gown with cabochon diamonds and pearls encrusted on the low cut bodice. She wore matching platinum cuffs on her forearms and biceps and large diamond drop earrings. It was important that he be impressed with her appearance, after all he had to think she did it all for him. She had even gone so far to extend the invitation to her private home, the one where no man was said to have ever set foot. It was perfect. It would flatter the duke's ego and also it was the safest place she could think of to avoid spies.

"Majesty, I am your humble servant!" The duke said as he entered and kneeled at her feet with the flawless grace of a courtier. Merla extended her hand and he kissed it, pressing to his lips slightly longer than necessary.

"Get up and come sit beside me." She smiled invitingly and waved him to his feet and he did as she asked, sitting in the chair next to her. Immediately a servant came to offer him wine and another brought a tray of artfully arranged fruit and sliced meat.

"My Lady, I thought that I would see you at Zarkon's funeral." Tabor complained tasting the wine.

"I had pressing issues here. And I thought it best not to go. I don't think I could have handled being around Lotor in his…grief over his father's untimely death." She said alluding to her psychic ability. Over the years she found it best if she played it off like a weakness. Something that caused her harm if she used it. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Tell me, is it true that he still thinks of negotiating with the 'little nothing?'" She said referring to the princess of Altea. She reached out and plucked a berry from the tray and popped it into her mouth.

"What I heard is that he is sending an Ambassador solely to retrieve the casualties and the fallen. But that's the official story. If I know my cousin there will be more to it." Tabor replied.

"Pathetic! He should have sent an army to demand justice for the dead! He panders to that Atlean bitch worse than he did to the Polluxian one!" Merla said and stretched her mind out feeling Tabor's consciousness. She _pushed _a little and felt him give way and then she was inside. "He thinks that he will install some human on his throne and the rest of Empire will just accept her? As a queen of one of our Kingdoms?" She continued with a bark of laughter.

"He does indeed. He thinks that he can do whatever he wants without penalty. He will ruin his Kingdom over that girl." He said.

She _pushed_ again, deeper, past his arrogance and found his insecurities. Ah! This was as surprise! _He doubts if he is Lotor's equal. He is not. If there was a fool in that family it was Tabor not Lotor. He is too easily lead and even more easily controlled. He will make the perfect King. _She mused_._

"Indeed. Lotor will destroy all Zarkon, your uncle, worked for. But can one expect? He is a bastard and a half breed! Not like you, Tabor, your father was a prince of the Second Kingdom. You are a Drule and no human blood taints your line." She said turning to him and extending her hand. He took it and she grasped it tightly and _pushed_ again.

_It is you who are fit to be King. You are still Zarkon's legitimate heir. His nephew. His blood. Lotor is the illegitimate son of a human whore! The pretender must go! _She wove the thoughts subtly scattering fragments here and there reinforcing the ones already in place. His mind would do the rest . Connect them all and he would never know that the treason and regicide he had been plotting were not of his own devise.

"No, no it doesn't." He took a drink of his wine. "I should be King. I will contest his claim in front of the Emperor!" That he actually said the treasonous words aloud proved to Merla how weak and stupid he really was. That alone could get him executed. And contest Lotor's claim in front of the Emperor! Lotor was the best swordsman in the Empire and he would slice Tabor into ribbons without even trying. Perhaps she had _pushed _too hard.

"No, Tabor. Wait. Let the Alteans and the Alliance do our dirty work for us. Speaking of which, how did it go with the Polluxian whore?" Merla asked stroking the back of Tabor's hand with her thumb. He looked over at her and she saw the gleam in his eye. She was still in his mind and she felt his thoughts turn carnal in nature. This was so easy it wasn't even fun, she lamented to herself.

"The whore wants war and little nothing wants to treat with him. But, the Alliance also wants war. So it's two against 'nothing.'" He said trying to make a joke. Merla faked a laugh at his cleverness.

"We need them both if he's going to fall…" Merla said. "Persuade the Polluxians anyway you can. Get them whatever information they need. Like you did when Zarkon attacked the Alteans. Which ever way Pollux goes Altea will follow. They have to it's in their treaty." She said and paused to take a sip of her wine and turned toward him so he could get a better view of her cleavage. "Then convince Lotor you support his claim. That you are his ally. Tell him a-permanent alliance with the… little-ah—_princess_," she drew out the word sarcastically, " is wise. That you support that as well. It is in the mutual benefit of all our Kingdoms. Say that it would be nice to have the weapon Voltron on our side for a change and the Alliance on their way home." She told him toying with the jeweled bangles he wore with her other hand.

Tabor nodded thoughtfully. "My Lady, you are as brilliant as you are beautiful!" He laughed. "You know- I think a marriage proposal from my dear cousin would inspire the girl to go to war faster than an armada approaching her boarders!"

"We just need him out of the way, and then you can be King and forge alliances of your own." She raised an eyebrow suggestively and looked him in the eye and _pushed_ once more. Just for fun.

"When I am King, I will need a queen." He agreed meeting her gaze and tightening his grip on her hand and pulled her close.

"My Lord Tabor! You are too bold!" she reprimanded him, her lips almost touching his. Her tone was sharp but her expression was not.

"Apologies, My Queen! I am not worthy of you yet." He said let her go and sank to his knees in front of her.

She looked down at him and stroked his hair with her other hand. "I am a Queen, I am not like other women; free to follow my desires. My body belongs to my kingdom and…" She paused for dramatic effect "its king." He had been stroking his hand up her calf as she spoke but stopped and took her hand in his and kissed it over and over.

"I will do anything for you. I swear it!" He said.

"Good." Merla said and smiled.

After Tabor had left Merla shook her head in disgust. She couldn't believe it had come to this. She had designs on the Ninth Kingdom since she had ascended the throne. She was certain that Zarkon would have accepted her offer; after all she was a queen in her own right.

She knew that her reputation had hindered her chances to marry other monarchs. They could gain an alliance through marriage of their children. They had tried to maximize their opportunities, marry as many of their whelp as they could in to as many Kingdoms as possible. Over the years she had received many offers, but always a second or third son. It was not good enough. Second sons only came with minor territories and fortunes not kingdoms and armies. And third sons came with even less.

With Zarkon she thought she had a chance. He was old, his only son and heir was the illegitimate half-breed of a slave. And he was greedy. She sensed in him a desire for power and status that was all consuming and relentless. She had thought that would be her way to entice him, they would double their holdings with the stroke of a pen. And she could provide him with a legitimate, uncontested heir. But he had rejected her and proposed a match with his son instead.

At first she had turned it down to save face, but later she reconsidered. She had thought that Lotor was an arrogant, spoiled prince who used his connections in the Supremacy to rise in rank. She thought he would be easy to control.

Then she had met him at a gathering of Kingdoms. Lotor was in attendance with his father. He was nothing like what she had believed. His reputation for his good looks was certainly true. He was vain, egotistical and he drank too much. But what war-master wasn't that way? He had also struck her as a very intelligent and ambitious. Together they would be a force to be reckoned with. She seriously considered taking Zarkon up on his offer. It was not until she had tried gaining access into his mind that she that she changed hers.

When she probed into other consciousnesses, it was like walking into a forest and pushing back the leafy branches of trees. Not exactly, but that was as close as she could come to describing it. Each bud, leaf or tangled vine was a thought or a memory that collectively made the person whole. Occasionally there would be rifts from tragedy or illness, like cracks in the earth or dry creek beds. Sometimes there would be something terribly out of place and nonsensical like with the insanity of the pilot Sven Holgersson.

But Lotor was different, even though at first he seemed the same. She pushed in through the recent events and impressions of daily life. Superficial things like the lingering memory of a concubine he had enjoyed. A joke someone had told. Lunch. Dinner. An officer who had annoyed him at flight drill.

She had pushed deeper trying to gain access to more intimate emotions she came across a chasm. A void as black and infinite as space. It seemed like there was nothing except a lingering despair and a longing for something that once was and never would be again. She pushed further trying to find an end, but there was none, just a sense that she was no longer alone in the darkness and that now something dangerous lurked watching her. She had pulled out abruptly, so fast she felt dizzy. Lotor had noticed her faintness and escorted her to the terrace.

"Care to try again?" He had whispered in her ear, taunting her. He had known what she did and it was him she had sensed watching her in the dark. She had abruptly walked away from him and retired to her rooms with a head ache. He had frightened her badly and it was a long time before she could use her abilities again without anxiety. She could never marry him after that violation.

She had almost given up hope that she would ever be able to get her hands on the Ninth Kingdom. What she needed to accomplish her goal was an easily manipulated puppet. And Tabor, Duke of Nemon, was exactly that.

_A/N: Cool factoid:_ _The Dodge Tomahawk is currently the fastest motor cycle in the world. It has the Dodge Viper V10 500 hp engine. Its top speed is alleged to be 675km or 420mph. There are 10 hand built models built which sold for $550K US. Since this bike is not even close to street legal now and is literally twice as fast as the next fastest bike, I felt that it would be appropriate t leave the stats as they are for the future setting of this story. I highly recommend you check out the pics of this beast on Google! _


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 4**

**1**

Keith reviewed the documents in front of him for yet another time. As many times as he had run the simulator and brainstormed himself there was no other answer that he could find. They needed to wait to attack Korrinoth even if that meant Lotor would have a chance to rebuild his fleet. If they went ahead in the way he knew Thompson, Lorn and by extension Coran planned to, they could depose Lotor. Maybe. The whole invasion depended on their ability to surprise and overwhelm his forces in the first wave. That was a problem in itself; Lotor was notoriously good at adapting to whatever circumstances he encountered.

While they might take Korrinoth it would be impossible for them to hold it. God forbid that Lotor wasn't captured or killed and he was able to get to one of the other planets under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Kingdom. He would come back like Satan hot from hell with everything he had. There was no question in Keith's mind that the former prince would raise Altea to the ground again just like his father did once before. Possibly worse.

The commander was not stupid. He knew the real reason Lotor had stuck with primarily military targets when he attacked. Superficially, it seemed that he was only doing it to maintain the infrastructure that would make it easier for his forces to occupy Altea once he conquered it. But Keith knew that he did it because of Allura. The same way he ordered that she was not to be fired upon. There were times that it almost looked like he was acting as her wing man. Instigating a dogfight with her with his own fighter but making sure that by doing so she stayed well out of the range of the heavy fire. And even under those rules of engagement he had come frighteningly close to victory more times than Keith cared to think about.

He was certain that if Lotor had not been swayed by his feelings for Allura, Altea would have fallen years ago. He would have had no choice but to order his team to take the robot Voltron back to the Alliance, to keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy and leaving Altea basically defenseless. He would have stayed with Allura, knowing that she would never abandon her people. And he knew it would be suicide for both of them. The irony of all this was that Lotor's own twisted idea of love for her,if it could even be called that, had ultimately acted against his interests. If he had not been not so concerned about protecting Allura, she and her planet would be in his possession. That was at least the one good thing that had come of the bastard's obsession with her.

"Hey Skipper!" Lance said striding through the door and flumping down in his usual chair in the team's private conference room. It had been up graded over the years, but the modified card table they had repaired and repurposed had stayed. It still had a folded up cigarette pack wedged under one leg to keep it level. Pilots were a superstitious bunch.

"Oh my God, you're early." Keith said glancing up from the holo. He slid a data card containing his presentation packet over to Lance who picked it up and downloaded it into his comm.

"Yeah, what's it you jarheads say? Ten minutes early is still five minutes late?" Lance joked.

"Somethin' like that." Keith answered still distracted by his thoughts.

Lance frowned at him and grabbed a sandwich off a tray in the middle of the table. He downloaded the card and looked at the contents while he ate. "Dude, is this for real?"

"This is very real."

" Have you told Coran or Thompson yet?"

"No, I wanted to get everyone up to speed first." Keith said closing out of the page.

Hunk came in with Allura and Keith handed them their packets. She sat down next to him and he reached for her hand under the table giving it a squeeze.

"Sorry I'm late; it took longer than I thought to get out of there." Shorty said breathlessly as he came in.

"How was it?" Allura asked.

"Long. Hot. Aggravating."

"Wasn't that bad…he had a girl in his trailer when I finally got a hold of him." Lance interjected talking around a mouthful of food.

"No way! Really? Was she pretty?" Hunk asked reaching for a sandwich himself.

"She was hot." Lance answered, drawing out the last word for emphasis.

"Is she nice? Are you going to see her again?" Allura asked.

"I thought we were here for a meeting." Shorty said getting embarrassed.

His teammates looked at him expectantly. "It's no big deal. One of the production assistants just wanted an autograph. We might meet for drinks later." They took an inordinate amount of interest in his social life. He supposed that it was like being the baby of the family. Sometimes it was hard for them to see that he had grown up.

"Ok, people, I didn't ask you here to harass Shorty about his girlfriends. So, let's get down to business." Keith said and projected the holo from the first page of the data card. "Ok, as you know Colonel Thompson and Coran want to invade Korrinoth as soon as those reinforcements get here in three weeks. Now I've run scenario after scenario on the simulator and it only comes out with a victory sixty eight point three percent of the time. Now I haven't factored in any new intel that Romell's or Thompson's people can get so that's an unknown variable. But still I don't like those odds. Even under the best of circumstances we might take Korrinoth, but there's no way we can hold it. Not for long. Now, starting with the diagram on the second page of your packet…" He began the statistical breakdown explaining each in detail and showed them the actual footage from the sessions.

"So, as best as I can tell, we're going to need more than twice what they're sending to take Korrinoth. And about double that to hold it. And that's just Korrinoth. Not any of Lotor's other planets or the Fifth Kingdom, which is going to go into total anarchy once Lotor has to pull the rest of his fleet from it to defend Korrinoth. Now I've come up with a battle plan that I think might work and the numbers look good and I wanted see what you guys thought about it." Keith said.

Surprise was essential. Lotor could not even begin to suspect that they were coming until they were right on top of him. The moon base` would be the first target. According to Romell's information every invasion force that was launched at Altea was staged from there. It was the nerve center of his military where the bulk of Lotor's heavy dreadnoughts where docked. If they could destroy that then they would have an opportunity to take down Korrinoth itself. There were twelve major bases spread out across the planet, the most important being the capital city of Galra. They would attack the bases simultaneously so that they would be bogged down and unable to get reinforcements. Once they had the home planet they could establish an occupying force and then move on to the rest of the Ninth Kingdom.

There would be significant civilian casualties. They had to be prepared for that. Tyrus would also have to be occupied. It would require a fraction of the force needed for Korrinoth to take it and hold it since it was not heavily fortified. It's primary products were agriculture and tourism and what military presence it did have was mainly to control the general population. And it, like Korrinoth, had a large number of human slaves, many of whom were Altean and could be counted on to aid them.

The key to success, however, lay on one thing. The first thing they had to do was demoralize the enemy. Give them nothing to fight for. And that meant they had to find Lotor and capture him or kill him in the initial strike . Keith knew which he'd rather do.

"Well you know we already have Pollux's support. Bandor would do it himself if he had the manpower. I know they'll give us everyone they have." Allura said. "I just wish there was a way to avoid this war. But I know there isn't. There will be so many dead. So many innocent civilians."

"I really can't think of any Drule as innocent. They're raised to live and die for the Empire. The only good Drule is a dead Drule." Lance said.

"Don't forget that there are human slaves on Korrinoth. They're either going to be caught in the crossfire or used as 'body armor' by Lotor's soldiers." Allura retorted.

"If you want to make an omelet you have to break some eggs." Lance quipped back.

Allura opened her mouth to say something then shut it, before she regretted her words. The members of the Voltron Force had been prisoners on Korrinoth for a short while before they escaped and made it to Altea. She knew that Lance had been treated particularly badly because of his good looks. She understood his words were generated by the hatred he felt, not out of callousness. He didn't mean them, not really.

"Ok, ok…settle down. We're all friends here." Keith said stopping the argument before it began.

"Sorry, Princess." Lance said.

" It's ok, I just want the fighting to end." Allura said wearily rubbing her forehead. "I'm so tired of being caught in the middle. One end I have Lotor and his threats and on the other the demands of the Alliance. Funny thing is they both want my Kingdom and Voltron for the exact same reason."

"The only problem I see with this is getting the Alliance to commit that many troops. They're stretched thin as hell to begin with." Hunk said. "I don't like the idea of taking civilian lives either, even though the Drule don't seem to have a problem with it. But, millions more lives will be lost if there's not a decisive end to this war."

"Even if they do agree to send more troops, it's going to take nearly six months to get them here. Altea is not exactly close to any Alliance worlds." Lance offered.

"Shorty, you've been pretty quiet. What do you think?" Keith inquired.

He had been quiet because he was thinking. Going over the numbers in his head. Keith was right, what the Alliance was doing was engaging them in a suicide mission. If they attacked with what they were sending, all it would do was piss Lotor off. It would force his hand to retaliate against Altea and Pollux to save face. Unless the Alliance planned a troop surge after the fact, Altea would fall or at the very least be pummeled back into a third class planet. There had to be another motive for them and he was pretty sure he knew what it was.

"You know, Skipper, I think that Thompson and Lorn know all this already. What the princess said had me thinking." Shorty said leaning chair back on two legs and rubbing his forefinger across his chin. "The Alliance originally sent us here to retrieve Voltron, not to help Altea. It was all we could do to get it back when they took it! Now, the war between Altea and Korrinoth has to end one way or another because it's been five years and they're spending trillions protecting a planet that's not even officially part of the Alliance. I'm thinking that maybe they want to put us in a losing situation because they know that we would give them Voltron before we'd let Lotor have it. It's the only real reason they ever gave a shit about this planet anyway. Before Voltron, Zarkon blew Altea back to the bronze age and they didn't even send a band-aid. After Voltron they couldn't send us help faster if they tried. I'm just sayin'" He finished.

"And that's why he's 'the smart one.'" Hunk said.

"Son of a bitch. With friends like that who needs enemies." Lance shook his head.

_It's brilliant, either way they get what they want_. Allura thought to herself. _They either force me to annex my planet to the Alliance and give up my sovereignty or they force me into a losing battle and to give up the only real protection that Altea has. Leaving me and my people at the mercy of Lotor, after we killed his father and attacked Korrinoth._ She felt ill at the thought of what he would do.

She looked over at Keith for a moment. He would stay with her. He told her he would long ago even before they began their relationship. But what would that do? Where would that leave them? Hiding in caves like she did before? How long would Lotor wait before he demanded she surrender herself to him or else he would raze her planet and people to the ground? In her heart she knew it was only a matter of time before she lost everything loved again. _No,_ _that is simply not an option. Not this time._ She thought.

"Keith, don't say anything about this to Thompson or Lorn. If this is indeed what they have in mind, I think it's best that they don't think we have any idea. I'll continue to say I want to hear Lotor's terms before I make any decisions and that should keep them sufficiently nervous. Then I'll set up a meeting with Admiral Graham and I'll tell him I think it might be time to think about bringing Altea into the Alliance." She said.

"But what about Lotor? Lorn was right about him. Allura, he's not going to stop trying. You know he's going to send you an offer." Keith said.

"Good." She said narrowing her eyes and nodding thoughtfully.

"What?" He almost shouted. Hunk and Lance just gaped at her and there was a loud scrape as Shorty nearly fell over in his chair.

"Lorn was right, he's going to make me a generous offer. I hope he does, because then the Alliance will have to make me a better one if they want my planet and Voltron." Allura explained. "And in the mean time I won't say yes to Lotor, but I won't say no. I'll string him along as much as I can. And that should get us the time we need to bring those extra troops here."

The color returned to Keith's face. "Oh, honey, you had me scared for a minute."

"Me too." Shorty said.

"I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to." She said laughing.

"Whatever, I'm still scared." Lance said. "Princess, how did you get so ruthless?"

"Politics." She answered.

2

He toyed with the silky smooth fabric of the ribbon, pulling it through his fingers and comparing it to the memory of the feel of her skin. It was a poor substitute.

He thought of the look on her face afterward. It haunted him. The pain and grief in her eyes. He pressed the ribbon to his lips and closed his eyes. _Forgive me, n'saiyat, I didn't mean to hurt you._ He thought.

Over the years he had come to regret what he had done. He should have never forced her like that. He should have taken her with him first then he would have had all the time he needed to have made love to her properly. If he had done that then she would have known the pleasure he could give and the depth of his affections. Then there would have been no question what had transpired between them and everyone would know that she was his.

He knew what the humans thought of women who had lain with Drule. He had hoped that what he had done would ruin her chances for marriage so that he could claim her when he was ready. He thought for sure that word would have gotten out and then she would have been in the same situation as her lying whore of a cousin. Tainted and unable to marry. But they had acted like nothing had happened.

Allura was considered one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy and had plenty of marriage proposals. Fortunately most of those were from commoners, albeit extraordinarily wealthy commoners and Altean law prevented her from marrying non-royals. Thank _Hira_ for small favors.

He picked up his comm and opened the browser screen. He searched the new issue of Denubian Style and found her page. The idiots had her listed as the seventeenth most beautiful person. He opened it and saw the caption "Warrior Princess" under a three dimensional image of Allura standing on top of the blue lion's head in her pink and white flight suit looking out into to the distance. The pink and gold light of the dawn reflected off the clouds and the sky was as blue as her eyes. Her long blonde hair was loose and was billowing out in the wind like a silky cloud around her head.

He zoomed in on the image to see her face better. She was wearing her circlet and the light glinted off of it and reflected in her eyes enhancing their color. He rotated it around to see her from a different angle and he felt his breath catch in his chest. She was that lovely. He saved it while thinking, '_Soon, n'saiyat, you will be my queen. And I will lay the galaxy at your- '_

Suddenly he heard the door to the conference room swish open without announcement. It startled him and just as he was about to berate the interloper he saw it was the old witch.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything important, Your Majesty." She said as she bowed with a little cackle looking at the enlarged image of Allura.

He closed out of it guiltily and stuffed the ribbon back in his pocket before she could see it. Haggar always had a way of making him feel like a child caught doing something he shouldn't.

"What do you want old witch?" He asked giving her a sidelong glance and then looking back at the cover page of the women's fashion magazine. He closed out of it with a hard poke of his finger.

"I found some things that I thought you might be interested in. Maybe you might find them useful." She said in a speculative tone that implied that she knew the answer to her question better than he did.

"Useful for what?" He asked annoyed at her intrusion.

"Oh, they're just some old things your father had me keep safe for him. Years ago." She said cryptically and walked up slowly leaning on her staff for support.

_She doesn't need that thing anymore than I do_, Lotor thought as he watched her shuffle up to him. She handed him a black metal box about ten by twelve inches across and four deep.

"So, what's in here that's so secret that my father wanted you to give it to me after he died?" He took it from her eyed both her and it skeptically as he heard metallic contents moving around inside.

"Oh, your Majesty, I doubt he ever meant for you to see what's in here." She said and laughed again.

He eyed the box warily and set it on the table. Maybe he should have the explosives expert from his personal guard open it? With Haggar a person couldn't be too careful.

"Why don't you open it, my King? I think you might be pleasantly surprised." She laughed again at his expression.

He frowned and set his jaw. "This better not be a trick, witch." He sprung the latch and lifted the lid. There was some jewelry, two coronets, a couple of rings and what looked like a broach. A necklace with a pendant. He lifted the coronet out and looked at it. There was something familiar about it. He set it down and pulled out one of the rings. It was large and heavy. A man's ring with four large pave set stones of red , blue and an onyx with a gold cross in the middle.

Suddenly he knew what he was holding. It was a signet ring. He looked back in the box at the broach and the other circlet. This was the jewelry of the King and Queen of Altea! Alfor and Ariella, Allura's parents. They must have been wearing it when they were captured. Of course his father would have kept it, he loved trophies.

"What—"He began to ask but she cut him off.

"Keep looking there's more."

He pulled out the jewelry and saw two data cards on the bottom. He picked them up and examined them. They were old. He picked up his comm and tried to load them but the software was too outdated.

"Allow me your majesty." Haggar said and took the cards and with a flourish of her staff she handed them back to him.

They loaded easily now. His jaw dropped open as he read the contents . He looked from the holo to the witch and then back again. "Is this what I think it is?" He asked.

"It is." She answered.

"Why did you give me this?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh, I just thought you might find it helpful when negotiating with the Altean princess." Haggar said and he could see her needle like teeth gleam under her cowl as she smiled.

"What makes you think I want to negotiate anything besides a prisoner transfer with Allura?" He asked.

"Oh, no reason. No reason at all." She answered and raised her staff a little and Lotor's comm projected his recently saved image of Allura back up.

He glared at her. She had uncanny timing, this unexpected delivery was no accident.

He looked at the holo of Allura and back at the document in front of him. "How did you know?" He asked not just about how she knew what he was planning, since he had spoken to no one about his real intentions, but also that now was exactly the right time to bring these things to him.

"Don't you believe in magic, my King?" She laughed.

"No. I believe in science." He retorted.

" As you will sire, but really, isn't it the same thing?" She said back clearly amused.

"Ngh! Go! You're giving me a headache!" He ordered. He knew better than to get caught up in the loop of her arguments.

"Apologies, Sire. I hope that you find my gifts…helpful." She cackled again bowed and shuffled out as slowly as she came in.

Once she had gone he read the document more carefully. _Khiori be praised! _ He smiled to himself. The old witch certainly knew how to make herself useful. He couldn't believe it still existed. He was looking at the original marriage contract between himself and Allura drawn up by King Alfor and signed in his own hand.

3

As Shorty left the meeting room and Lance walked up beside him. "So, how'd it go? You get her number?" He asked.

"Yeah, I told her I'd give her a call later, when I got done here." He answered.

"Cool. Does she have a friend?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, she said she'd find somebody." Shorty said as they walked up the corridor together.

Hunk walked up behind them talking on his comm. "Ok, ok….uh, huh….they did what? Not the new one! Oh, damn it! Ok, I'll talk to them when I get home… Oh, what? No, no not yet….Honey, just relax, it's no big deal…No, really it isn't…"He flinched and decreased the volume of is comm."Ok, you're right… it is a big deal and I'll talk to them, ok? Just relax. I'll be home soon, ok? I love you too." He clicked off the unit sighed and shook his head.

" Is Mattie ok?" Shorty asked.

"Oh, yeah. She's fine. Jax and Henry got into a fight playing the new gaming system. They broke the controllers or the holo or something. Mattie was pretty upset. I think it's the hormones taking over. " Hunk explained. He had been told how emotional pregnant women were but nothing prepared him for the reality. Usually unflappable, Mattie now sobbed at the slightest thing and sometimes for no reason at all.

"So I guess you can't get a hall pass tonight?" Lance asked.

"Not a chance." Hunk answered smiling. To be honest he didn't want to go out. He and his wife, Mattie, had been married for about two years now and they were expecting their first child together. She was a war widow and had two boys from her previous marriage. This one that they were expecting would be his first.

"That's too bad, dude. " Lance said. "You're becoming an old married guy."

"Eh, it's not so bad once you get used to it." Hunk replied jokingly.

Once he wouldn't have missed a chance to go out on much needed R&R with the guys, but now with the threat of attack constantly looming he preferred to be with his wife and new family. It was funny how marriage had changed his priorities.

He loved kids and that was how he had met Mattie. She and her boys had been at a soccer game and recognized him. They had badgered him with questions and finally she had found them and pulled them away apologizing for bothering him. He was taken with the petite, dark haired dark eyed woman who he first mistook for their sister. She didn't look old enough to have children. He had told her it was fine, they weren't bothering him and autographed their ticket stubs. She had thanked him and had gone back to their seats dragging her reluctant boys with her.

He kept thinking about her during the game wishing he had gotten a chance to talk more with her. He used his connections to find out her name from the tickets she had purchased and then the name of the restaurant where she worked. Coincidentally he just happened to show up there for lunch a couple weeks later. He had felt like a stalker, and resolved that if she wasn't interested he would back off. She wasn't. A widow of a soldier with two young boys, six and eight years old, she had no desire to be with another man who would be gone all the time and most likely never come home. He couldn't argue with her about that. But he left his number on a napkin, an open invitation to take the boys to any games with his season passes and a ridiculously large tip.

He had checked his comm at every ring for the first few days hoping it was her but when she didn't call he figured she wouldn't. But a week later it did ring. And he didn't answer and no one left a message. The second time the signature came up on his ID he answered quickly but it wasn't her. It was her eight year old boy Jax. "You should date my mom." He said. "She never goes out so you have to come over to dinner because she can never get a sitter." He almost asked the boy if he could speak to his mother then changed his mind. He just asked what time dinner was. "7:30 after Scouts and bring flowers. She likes flowers." Jax had told him. That was four years ago. And now he was going to be a father.

They approached the elevator to their suites.

"You coming up?" Shorty asked him as he stepped into the lift.

"Nah, I gotta get something for Mattie first." He said and headed toward the gardens to see if they had any roses cut.

Shorty let the elevator door shut. "I can't believe he's going to be a dad."

"I can. He's the family type, likes to be settled." Lance answered.

"What about you ? Don't you ever think about it?"

"Think about what?" Lance asked.

"I dunno, finding a nice girl, settling down. Kids." Shorty said.

"What? No." Lance answered looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "Do you?"

"Yeah, sometimes." Shorty answered and Lance gave him a sideways look and made a face.

"Bro, trust me 'nice' is over-rated." Lance said grinning as they reached their floor. They stepped into the corridor.

"Hey I'll call you as soon as I know what's up." Shorty called to him as they went to their rooms.

They were meeting at The Blue Goose Cantina in the center of Leon, the rapidly growing city that had sprung up around the Castle of Lions. They had picked that one because it was close enough to the castle that they could get back if there was an emergency and it was their usual watering hole. They were well known enough by the other patrons to know that their privacy would be respected.

"She's bringing a friend, right?" Lance asked as taking a drink of his bourbon and water as they waited at the bar for the girls to show up.

"That's what she said." Shorty answered.

"Is she hot?"

"That's what she said." Actually she said 'cute and really funny.' Shorty wished she would get there already. They had talked briefly and he had given her directions and told her what train to take from her hotel. Just then his comm rang. It was her.

"Hey Caroline! Yeah, we're here...No, not long…We're at the bar." He said turning around to the entrance. He waved when he saw her and hung up his comm. _Whoa! Damn!_ He thought she was pretty on the set but she had dressed to kill. Her slender tan legs caught everyone's attention as she walked over to them in the tiny white shorts and platform sandals she wore.

Lance nudged him with an elbow and nodded his approval.

"Oh, Hey! There you are!" She said as she hurried over to them. There was a dark haired girl behind her.

"Wow! It's nice to see you again!" She gave him a hug and smiled. "This is my friend Jeanine. She's a graphic artist. She does all the CGI and special effects."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Jeanine said and politely shook his hand. She had long straight hair and wore a black strapless dress that showed off her curves. She had an hourglass figure and would have been pretty by herself but compared with the leggy Caroline she just seemed, well, cute.

"Hey, uh, this is Lance McClain, he's the Read Lion pilot." Shorty said introducing his friend to both girls.

"Oh, I know! Oh, wow! It's nice to meet you." Caroline said and smiled wider and blushed a little. Lance had that effect on women. She gave him a hug too.

"Hey, Shorty why don't you go sit down with the girls and I'll get us some drinks. Ladies, what'll it be?" He asked.

They told Lance what they wanted and then found a round picnic style table on the patio with an umbrella and decorative lights. Caroline sat down next to him and Jeanine sat next to her.

"Oh wow! This is nice! The weather here is just awesome!" She exclaimed looking out at the night sky then back at him. "You look different." She said.

"I do?"

"Yeah, younger, or something."

"Oh, I shaved." He said rubbing his hand along his chin.

"Oh, that's what it is." She touched his cheek for a second just as Lance came back with the drinks and set them on the table.

He sat down next to Jeanine. "It's Jeanine, right? So, you're an artist, huh?" He asked as nudged Shorty firmly under the table with his foot. Apparently Caroline's idea of 'hot' and Lance's were entirely different things.

They made small talk for awhile and Jeanine had the better personality after she warmed up and got over her initial shyness. She was in fact very funny with a dry, acerbic wit. Unfortunately most of her jokes had to be explained to Caroline who seemed to be more intrigued with Lance's stories of robeast battles.

The band started to play another set.

"Does anyone here know how to two-step?" Lance asked. Both girls shook their heads. "Shorty?" He asked inconspicuously darting his eyes at Caroline.

Shorty swallowed and glanced at Caroline. He didn't dance. He didn't know how and he would make a fool out of himself if he tried.

"What?" He looked at Lance. "No! Dude, no. I'm not dancing with you! Not after what happened last time!" He joked.

"Oh! Poor Lance! I'll dance with you!" Caroline interjected and jumped up from the table. Lance took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. Before the first song was over his hand was on her ass.

"I knew that was going to happen." Jeanine said taking a sip of her drink.

"Me too." Shorty watched the blonde haired girl as she touched the stubble on his friend's cheek and he flashed his trademark cocky grin at her.

"So what program do you use?" He asked trying to salvage what he could of the evening. He could tell by the look on Jeanine's face that he wasn't the only one who'd felt like they'd just been thrown a grenade.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comics and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way.**

**Razor's Edge  
Chapter 5**

**1**

The door swished shut as Hunk walked out conference room. Keith and Allura exchanged looks.

"No way." He said.

"I don't believe it." She replied.

"We're actually alone." He smiled mischievously.

"We are, aren't we?' Allura smiled back and leaned toward him. "Whatever shall we do?"

He reached out sliding his arm around her body and drew her close until they were nose to nose. They stayed like that for a moment, just savoring the feeling of the other's nearness. Then Keith pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back. She marveled at the feel of his lips as she did every time from the first kiss he gave her. He was the first and only man she had ever kissed and the moment that his lips had touched hers she knew he would be the last.

His other hand came up and stroked along her jaw line and cupped her cheek for a moment before burying his fingers in her thick golden blonde hair. She felt his tongue flick gently across her lips and she opened her mouth to receive it. Without breaking the kiss she moved from her chair to sit on his lap and pressed her hand to the back of his neck. She shifted to sit astride him and ran her hand down the collar of his uniform shirt and loosened the top buttons.

With his one hand still buried in her hair his other moved lower until it rested on the small of her back and then slid further down cupping her tight rear. He shifted under her and she could feel his hardness. She pressed herself against it and moaned a little at the pleasure created by the friction.

"Do we have time?" She asked breathlessly pulling away from his lips for a second then kissing him again.

He moved his hand from her hair to her breast, cupping it and lightly playing with her hardened nipple through her shirt. He could feel her moist heat through her clothes pressing against his groin. He released her mouth and eyed the door. "I think so. But we'll have to make it quick."

"Ok. Well, hurry up! We're burning daylight! " Allura admonished with a naughty giggle, using one of Keith's favorite phrases.

He laughed with her. "I love you." He said and kissed her again and began to unbutton her blouse. She arched back allowing him more access and gasped with pleasure as she felt the garment fall away and both his hands caressed her through the pink embroidered lace of her bra. He pulled the sheer fabric down exposing her full breasts and she grabbed his head and pulled it down to them. She stifled a moan as his mouth closed over her nipple.

Her comm rang and she fumbled with one hand for it and transferred the call to her secretary with the push of a button.

She ground herself against his hardness and then reached in between them to unfasten his belt. With one hand still on her breast he used the other to help her. Deftly he unbuttoned his trousers and lowered his fly. He released his mouth from her breast and groaned as he felt her hand close around him and begin stroking the head of his cock. She twisted her body slightly and offered him the other breast. His mouth closed over her nipple and he sucked greedily. She pressed her chest firmly against his lips offering her breast to him freely as her fingers explored the smooth ridges of his cock feeling the slick beads of pre cum emerge from the tip.

She felt his hands pulling at her own belt and shifted her hips to make it easier for him. He got her pants open and she slid off his lap and stood trying to wriggle them down her hips only to realize she still had her shoes on.

"I knew I should have worn a dress today. Stupid pantsuit!" She said in frustration as she leaned back against the table and picked up her leg to remove her boot. It shifted precariously under weight. "Oh!" she cried out as she lost her balance.

He stood up quickly and steadied her. "Careful!" He warned. "If we break the table again Hunk is going to kill us. Hey, I have an idea. Turn around."

Her eyes flashed with excitement and she turned leaning over the table presenting her backside to him. He eased her pants the rest of the way down her legs to her knees. He paused for a second and admired the way her bottom looked in her pink panties with scalloped lace edges. He caressed her hips with both hands before sliding one down the curve of her ass and then slipping it between her legs. She gasped at the shock of pleasure and arched her back. He stroked her through the cloth for a moment then slid his fingers under the elastic and caressed her soft wet flesh.

"Oh, oh God!" Allura cried out and spread her legs as wide as the clothing bunched around her knees would allow as he probed deeper finding her sensitive peak.

"Shhh! Someone will hear." He cautioned but continued to stroke her clit. She nodded and bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out again. There was something about the risk of discovery that made what they were doing all the more thrilling.

"Oh, you're so wet!" He said pulling her panties down, exposing the round cheeks of her ass and the glistening pink of her sex.

He slipped his finger inside her marveling at how tight she was. His cock throbbed in anticipation of thrusting inside her and feeling her warm flesh pulse around him but he waited for her to say that he could. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes! Oh, yes!" she gasped gripping the table and trembling on the brink of orgasm. He began to pull his cock the rest of the way out of his pants when her comm rang again. The ring tone indicating the matter was urgent.

"Do you want to get—" Keith asked.

"No!" She gasped and sent it to her message system. Surely whatever it was could wait just a little bit longer.

Immediately Keith's comm started ringing, the tone indicating urgency as well.

"Oh, damn it!" Allura cursed under her breath and she glanced over her shoulder at him. The mood was sufficiently spoiled. He looked at her with a mix of apology and exasperation and she shook her head in agreement.

"You might as well answer that. It must be important if we're both being called." She said slumping her shoulders in frustration. She wanted to throw something and looked angrily at her comm unit. She straightened and began pulling up her clothes.

He picked up his comm disabled visual and answered it as he stuffed himself uncomfortably back into his pants. "This is Kogane…Oh, really? He is? Oh, Christ! Yeah, thanks Kate. Just tell him we'll be right up….Tell him that, uh, her Highness and I were just going over some things from flight drill this morning." He ended the call and zipped up his fly.

"That was Kate? Is something wrong?" she asked as she finished buttoning her blouse and fastening her belt.

"Well, not really wrong, just Coran is looking for both of us. Apparently, King Bandor is standing by for your conference with him and he wants me present to answer any technical questions."

"What? That wasn't scheduled until later this evening." Allura frowned in irritation, smoothing her hair with her hands as she spoke. "I guess this was the only window he could get for a secure communication."

"Maybe." Keith said snapping his comm back onto his belt.

"Well, I guess this leaves me open for dinner, then." She mused suggestively turning to face him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Really? That's what you said the last time." He teased returning her embrace, reminding her of the previous night's debacle when Coran had remained after his dinner meeting with the Princess to act as impromptu chaperone when Keith had shown up 'to discuss next morning's flight plan.' Keith knew that the old man had stayed to thwart any rumors of romance between the Princess and himself. _Unseemly fraternization_, he liked to call it. If the snobby old aristocrat only knew what his efforts to discourage that had caused. Keith frowned and pushed the angry thought from his mind.

"Yes, really. If he does that again, I'll banish him from my kingdom." She jokingly promised and kissed him lightly on the lips.

**2**

King Bandor of Pollux waited patiently at his desk in his personal study. He had deliberately moved the time of the conference up so that he could speak to Allura alone, without Romelle. Both he and Sven had agreed that it would be less confrontational that way. His sister's lingering animosity towards Allura had a way of derailing the discussion. Not that Bandor could really fault her for how she felt. It would be a jagged pill for any woman to have to befriend and love the person who, even innocently, had been the cause of her suffering. He had even shared Romelle's resentment of Allura to a lesser degree. Both of them believing that if Allura had not been the object of the Lotor's obsession, Romelle would have never been so ill used by the prince. But after the Alteans had come to their aid and Bandor had a chance to know Allura, he realized that far from gloating over her long time enemy's defeat and Romelle's disgrace, she blamed herself for not reaching out and trying to ease tensions between Altea and Pollux sooner.

Allura had a kind and generous nature and an ability to empathize that was bound to get her into trouble. _Thank God for Coran_, Bandor thought, _that crafty old devil has managed to keep the Alliance fighting Altea's battles while maintaining the sovereignty of the Kingdom. _Indeed his own planet, Pollux had benefitted immensely by way of the Prime Minister's shrewdness when it came to treaties with the Alliance. Allura was lucky to have him. Without Coran, he had no doubt that her Kingdom would be annexed to the Alliance already and Voltron would be off somewhere in the galaxy fufilling their agenda. If she was lucky they might have let her put her profile on a postage stamp.

His sister had told him that Allura still insisted on negotiating for peace with Lotor. Bandor shook his head. Surely she didn't think that was an option? Perhaps the Alteans had another plan, but with Allura one could never tell. She always thought the best of people, seeing them how they could be and not how they are. Her belief in the inherent goodness of others had worked out well for him and his Kingdom when Zarkon had proved to be a liar. Any other ruler besides Allura would have let Zarkon crush them. He supposed the old adage was true; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Bandor was still astounded at what good allies the Altean's had turned out to be. He supposed it also had to do that they were the only family that any of them had left. After all, they were second cousins. Alfor's aunt had married their grandfather in an attempt to heal the rift between the two Kingdoms by marriage. The treaty died when she did.

'_Allura's problem is that she thinks that everyone is like her and they will respond to fair treatment with fairness. If she thinks to rely on Lotor's good nature she's in for a very harsh disappointment. I've seen his notion of chivalry and it's not pretty.'_ Bandor's face darkened at the memories.

He was barely more than a child when his father, King Kova, had made an alliance with Zarkon against their mutual enemy, Altea. The feud between Altea and Pollux stretched back centuries, all the way from the First Diaspora. Earth had begun settling the planets it discovered. Both Altea and Pollux were considered Goldilocks worlds. Just the right distance from their respective suns to produce an Earthlike atmosphere and environment. The scientists who had first explored the planets had declared them to be miracle worlds, they were so like Earth. Except that Pollux had higher concentrations of mercury and other harmful heavy metals in the soil that made it a poor candidate for immediate settlement.

So Altea was settled first and they thrived there for nearly a century until the First War of Succession established Alfor's ancestors as the rulers of Altea. The civil war had nearly destroyed the fledgling world and to avoid further conflict the supporters of his rival were rounded up and sent to Pollux which had been established decades before as a prison colony.

No one expected them to survive the toxins in the soil. And they very nearly didn't. But then the Drule had arrived with their superior technology and knowledge of terraforming virgin worlds. They had helped them and left, under the disguise of peace and claims that the gesture of benevolence would ensure a long relationship between the two civilizations. Little did they know that the Drule's real motive was that the humans would suffer the consequences until the world proved both habitable and profitable for the Drule. It was only then that Zarkon had expressed interest in the emerging super power. Proposing an alliance and offering his half human son, Prince Lotor, to marry Bandor's sister Romelle.

Bandor recalled his first trip to the glittering court of Korrinoth. His father had gone home leaving Avok, his older brother and heir to the throne, there to see to Pollux's interests . Bandor had arrived later with Romelle, to be her escort when she was presented at court, although he was only thirteen years old. It had been his and Avok's duty to see to her protection, and they had both failed miserably. Now the memory of the night he had escorted her by the arm to base of Zarkon's massive throne to be formally presented to the king made him feel like a shepherd who unwitting brought a lamb to a wolf's den.

She was his sister and he loved her, but in those days, Romelle was as headstrong as she was beautiful. His father had spoiled her and it reflected in her personality. She was used to getting her own way and doing as she pleased without consequence. Her royal title and their father's wealth had protected her from the harsh realities of life. And there was no where on Pollux where she was not openly adored. She could not concieve of it being any other way anywhere else.

For years she had enjoyed her reputation as one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy and undisputedly the most beautiful princess. Until Allura of Altea re emerged with the all the fanfare of the Lions. Aside from their hair color the resemblance between the two young women was startling. But Allura was decidedly the more beautiful of the two. Her features were softer, more delicate and she had a sort of vulnerability about her that Romelle lacked.

But in spite of her cousin's beauty, Pollux was a Kingdom on the rise, not a ruin like Altea. And Romelle had countless suitors, both human and Drule, seeking to ally themselves with them. But she had convinced their father to refuse them all. Perhaps their father should have indulged her less; then maybe things would have been different.

Bandor was no stranger to the Drule, many had come to his father's court over the years but an invitation to one of their worlds was rare. He had heard stories of their decadence. But nothing prepared him or Romelle for opulence that suddenly surrounded them. Everything was exquisitely carved, gilded or inlaid with something. The floors were black, red and gold, the colors of Zarkon's royal house. Intaglio patterns of interlocking circles and chevrons of marble, semi precious carnelian and sunstone. The walls down the main corridor were complex mosaics depicting scenes from Drule mythology and studded with cabochon gemstones and pieces of real gold. It would have taken the entire treasury of Pollux to build this one palace. He was awestruck. But however much he was affected by it all, Romelle was far more impressed.

Bandor could see it in her eyes when she looked around Galra Castle, taking note of the power and wealth of Korrinoth, that this was what she had been waiting for.

"I will be queen of all this, Bandor!" She had exclaimed to him.

"But, sister! You haven't even met Prince Lotor yet! What if you don't like him?" He had asked with childish naïveté.

She had laughed and said, "Oh, I like him already."

In the beginning they had all liked him. Lotor had been charming and personable. Indeed, Lotor and Avok had become fast friends since they shared many of the same interests. Such as drinking, gambling, women and war. They often spared together with swords and once they had put on an exhibition match in the arena to settle a bet, which Avok won. Lotor had claimed that it was only because he was disarmed by Romelle's beauty. He had knelt in front of the royal box and begged her mercy.

"Dear Princess, I've lost the heart to fight because you have stolen it. Would you please give it back?" He asked.

"Never!" Romelle had replied laughing and the crowd had loved it. It seemed that their prince had found his princess. It had all the hallmarks of a love match and a union that would increase the wealth and power of both Kingdoms.

Bandor had even fallen for him as well. Lotor had taken his own time and had instructed him in swordsmanship and given him few flying lessons. The prince had even arranged for him to have his first woman. He looked up the Prince Imperial as he would another older brother.

But Lotor and Zarkon had fooled them all. They never had any intention of going through with any of it. Lotor had only sought to isolate the heirs of the Polluxian throne from their kingdom while Zarkon convinced Kova to use Pollux's armies to help them to defeat the rediscovered super mecha, Voltron. They had played on their mutual animosity of the Alteans and Pollux's long and friendly trade relationship with the Drule Empire.

None of them, not his father, Avok, himself and certainly not Romelle had any idea what Zarkon had really planned. He would lay claim to Altea once Voltron was in his posession and the Alliance was pushed back out of the quadrant. Zarkon also had planned to bring Pollux under the patronage of the Ninth Kingdom by eliminating the male heirs to the throne and keeping Romelle as a hostage bride.

Looking back, it had been an act of sheer stupidity that his father had let it happen. His father's desire for power had clouded his judgment and he had jumped at the chance of an alliance with Zarkon the way a beggar jumps at coins thrown in the street. Bandor clenched his jaw at the thought.

Romelle should never have been allowed to come to Korrinoth without her father in attendance. Kova should have demanded that Lotor come to Pollux first. There was no betrothal contract signed by Zarkon, not that it would have mattered. He had a reputation of dangling his son as incentive to treat with his Kingdom. He had done it with the Alteans before just as he had more recently done the same to Queen Merla.

Zarkon's plan had come so close to working. Avok had died in battle with the Alteans. Bandor knew it was no small coincidence that Lotor did not arrive in time with re-enforcements. It was only because Bandor needed to continue his academics that he was reluctantly recalled to Pollux. If he hadn't he was certain that one of Lotor's beautiful whores would have murdered him in his sleep.

He supposed that the first inkling of anything suspicious was right before he left.

He had been staying in the Imperial palace in a suite across from his sister. He had just exited his rooms when the door to her suite opened and two maids came out. They were laughing about some gossip and didn't notice him. He overheard one servant saying that the Princess Romelle did not stay in her rooms at night. At first he almost confronted the woman, but then decided to eavesdrop a little longer. The second servant rejoined with something about the Prince finally getting a princess as a concubine and that one was as good as the other. The idea that they were speaking of his sister froze him where he stood. He remembered leaning against a pillar waiting for them to pass. He returned to his rooms and tried to call Avok on his comm, but he didn't answer.

The next day he confronted Romelle telling her what he had heard. She had flown into a rage snatched up her comm and stormed off to her bedroom. From where he sat he could hear her shouting something about that she would not be made a fool of or gossiped about like a common slut. When she returned she was much calmer.

"Everything is fine dear brother. It wasn't me they were speaking of, but that pathetic cousin of ours, Allura." She explained.

"No, Romelle. They meant you. Don't let them lie to you." He said.

"I spoke to Lotor, himself. My betrothed wouldn't lie to me." She said holding up her comm and showing him the signature.

"You spoke to Lotor? Like that?" He asked her incredulously.

Romelle ignored the question and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "He told me that his Majesty promised him that he could keep her as a concubine when he conquered Altea. But he says that instead, as a wedding present, I can have her as a maid." She said smugly. "I think I'll like watching the little bumpkin scrub the floor."

How wrong she had been. How wrong they had all been. Their mistakes had cost them dearly. His father and his brother were dead. His Kingdom was now under constant threat of attack. His sister was ruined and all joy and laughter was gone from her eyes and replaced with a flinty hardness that only softened when she was with her lover, Sven.

But now there was an opportunity to make it right again. A chance to avenge his father and brother, restore his sister's honor and kill the bastard that had brought them all so low. And if Allura thought she could talk him out of it she was very much mistaken.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comics and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way.**

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 7**

**1**

Cossack shifted his weight carefully so he didn't disturb the sleeping woman beside him. Azeria. It had been so long since he had seen her. He had finally been allowed to leave court and was able to return to his own home outside the capital city last night. He hadn't told her he was coming, he had wanted to surprise her, but somehow she had known. As his valet took his coat he had looked up and saw her standing at the top of the stairs wearing a gown he hadn't seen before. It was tangerine silk beaded with blue gemstones and gold embroidery that enhanced the brilliant cognac of her eyes. She had dressed especially for him, knowing that those were the colors he liked to see her in. Their eyes met for a moment and without waiting for him to summon her she rushed down the stairs, decorum forgotten. When he met her at the bottom she did not sink into the submissive prostration of slave but flung herself into his arms. He had wrapped his arms around her lifting her off her feet and kissed her shamelessly in front of his servants. _Qiuu rekkai_ they would call him behind his back, but he didn't care.

"_Saiya, saiya…Kh'liora mnu kae 'et k'lasa_. How I have missed you!" He told her setting her down and tilting her face up to him so he could admire her loveliness.

"_N'saiyat! Lasi har le ni'var sbah! _ I'm so glad your home!" She answered stroking his face with her fingertips.

He had swept her up in his arms and carried her directly to their bedroom and there they had stayed for the last two days.

Propping himself on one elbow he studied her delicate profile and resisted the urge to smooth her hair off her forehead. He looked beyond her to the bedside table and scowled at the bottles of medication there. There were far too many. Some to make her sleep, some to wake her up and others to help her with the chronic pain she suffered from the injury that she had suffered several years ago.

It had happened on Altea and it was the reason he had stopped bringing her with him on campaigns. Voltron's blazing sword had nearly severed his flagship in half. He was on the bridge at the time and his first thought as the vessel went down was to save her. He only barely got to his rooms as the ship crashed. He had been in his battle suit, but Azeria had no protection at all and suffered the full impact. And that was his fault. He should have insisted that she wear her armor when the fighting began. But in his arrogance he had never thought that she would need it. He had almost lost her, had he not been there to pull her out of the wreckage and get her med evac'd to a rescue vessel immediately, she would have died. In fact, the first doctor on Korrinoth to examine her had recommended euthanasia because it would be far less expensive to simply get another concubine than to treat this aging one. He had slit the man's throat in response and found another physician with a more positive prognosis. She had recovered but the nerve damage to her spine had never fully healed and she lived in pain and a growing dependence on the drugs that lessened it.

Unable to stop himself he reached out and brushed a few strands of silky white hair out of her face that had become caught in her eyelashes. She shifted and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Mmm... N'saiyat, what are you doing?" She mumbled.

"Looking at you." He answered.

"Why?"

"Because you're beautiful." He answered and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"You're just saying that because you're horny." She was more awake now and her lips curled into a sultry smile.

"You know me so well." He chuckled.

"Oh! You!" she huffed and playfully swatted him on the shoulder as she rolled over to face him.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close and nuzzled his nose in her hair, inhaling the unique scent that was Azeria. As her unique pheromones imprinted themselves on him yet again he felt their bond strengthened and a sense of calm and security washed over him. He felt her soft breath under his chin and knew she did the same with him. _Thiila Adun, _it was called. A controversial belief that for each person there was only one true mate. And once joined they would be bound to each other for life.

A pragmatist and a skeptic by nature he had thought it was romantic nonsense. People married because it was what they were expected to do. They had a duty to continue their family line. It was why had married Dalaa. At the time he had felt something for her that could be called love but when it faded to affection and then later to mere tolerance he had thought it was the normal way of things. No one could expect to love one person passionately their whole life.

_Thiila Adun._ He never would have believed it was real—never did believe it until he had met Azeria. He hadn't known it when he first saw her. It was nothing like lightning striking or an instant psychic connection like the stories about it claimed. He had just felt good when he was around her. She was soothing and easy to be with from the start. He had felt like he had known her his whole life and had instantly trusted her. They had become closer as the years passed, developing an intuitive sense of what the other needed. Each time he left he was restless and unsettled and longed for the serenity he felt when he was with her.

"Did I tell you I missed you?" He asked kissing her on the temple.

"You did. But I still don't believe you." She said, provocatively caressing the curve of his ear. "Prove it."

"Remember, n'saiyat, you asked for it!" He replied.

She squealed in delight when he rolled her on to her back and she felt his familiar weight press her back into the pillows.

**2**

Martinez had been awake now for three weeks from hibernation and had moved into the main barracks. She was just beginning the miserable process of getting back into physical condition.

The advantage of hibernation was its massive cost savings for the Alliance. On missions like troop transport it was a huge benefit since most of the passengers on board were only along for the ride. People in hibernation could be fed a liquid mush of carbohydrates, electrolytes and protein and kept healthy. It drastically reduced the amount of supplies needed on board a ship and the rate of illness and injury. And it also lessened the anxiety and emotional issues created by the sheer boredom of prolonged space travel for the troops who would other wise be left with little to do but fuck and fight.

But it took its toll physically in wasted muscles, digestive problems and in rare instances, such as Martinez's, waking dreams. All of these were temporary and would subside in a matter of a few more weeks. Or so she hoped. Her dreams were vivid and terrifying. And sometimes she had trouble distinguishing what was real and what wasn't while awake. She prayed it would stop soon. She wouldn't be cleared to fly if they didn't.

Her physical symptoms were resolving much quicker. The daily runs and PT drills were actually a welcome respite and helped her with the increasing anxiety she felt about her sleeping problems. And it was good to excel at things. She enjoyed being the best. It reassured her. While many of her shipmates were still struggling, her muscles had responded quickly and she was nearly as fit as she was before she had been put in a medically induced, six month long coma. She often led the pace during the grueling runs that circled the length of the ship's recreational decks, singing out cadence in a clear strong soprano. Second Lt. Wade, one of her former bunkmates during hibernation had remarked on it once.

"So, that's why they call you 'La La'?" He asked running up beside her. His breath was heavy but he could still carry a conversation. His accent marked him as Terran, from the European continent. She had sought asylum on Earth and had come to dislike the people of her new home world. She found most Terrans to be arrogant and condescending to off-worlders, or Colonials, as they were commonly referred to.

"Yeah, you got me." She answered. Something about him bothered her and she quickened her pace slightly hoping to put him off his stride.

"Did you take singing lessons…or something?" He asked, panting a bit but keeping up.

"Sort of, I was a choir girl back home."

"So where's home?"

_Nowhere, you nosey bastard. _She wanted to say. It was an innocent and common question that people often asked when making conversation. But to Martinez it was invasive and triggered her defenses. She gritted her teeth in annoyance as she glanced over at him. He was handsome with piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair with bits of premature silver threading through it. He noticed her looking and smiled broadly showing off his white perfect teeth. A crooked, cocky smirk. One that reminded her of someone she once knew and had almost drank herself to death trying to forget. She disliked him immediately. Men like him were arrogant, selfish and vain. They were used to having everything and everyone offered to them on a sliver platter and believed it was their due. They would use anyone and everyone mercilessly to get what they wanted because that was all that mattered to them. She knew his type too well.

"Balto." She said tersely, naming the planet listed on her service record and increased her pace even more.

"Oh…really?" He asked. His breathing was labored. "Did you get off…world…in time?" He was a big man with heavy muscles. Soon his bulk would cancel out the stride advantage his height gave him. She sped up again, but just barely, just enough so that he could keep up with her if he tried but could no longer speak. The pace was easy for her and she wanted him to see it. Just to piss him off.

She looked at him again, this time more closely. He had the bearing and aura of someone born to privilege. And if anyone could recognize it she could. She hated him then. Personally. A seething hatred for him and any one else who would ask the survivor of such a tragedy a question like that.

He knew as well as she did that only the very wealthy or well connected had been able to leave before Zarkon's armada, commanded by his son Lotor, arrived. As they boarded their own vessels the leaders of Balto had placated the remaining population with the idea that Voltron would come and defend the planet. But that didn't happen. Voltron didn't arrive. It was just three Lions and several battalions from the Alliance. And they were too late even to affect a rescue. Eighty six million people died during the initial siege and another Two hundred and ten million during the weeks of ground fighting afterward.

Lotor had left those remaining to fend for themselves on the ravaged world. He surrounded the planet, blockading it and preventing any type of aid sent by the Alliance from getting through. He attacked again, many months later this time to capture those who had been strong enough to survive the toxic fall out, famine and disease.

The public out cry was enormous and the Alliance had tried in vain to minimize their role in the tragedy and offered all survivors of the planet asylum and restitution. And Altea did the same but offered survivors the added benefit of full citizenship. But she knew what had really happened. That both sides had been more concerned about their own interests and let Balto take the fall so that their own people would be spared this time. She had been there and watched it as it happened.

"In time for what?" She asked and kept running staring straight ahead.

She had been asked this question many times and she knew what was implied. 'Were you a slave? ' is what they really wanted to know. And if you were a woman the implication was much worse. There was always the terrible accusation in their eyes. Assessing you and labeling you dirty and damaged goods. Some tried to hide it but most didn't.

"You …know…before they…the Drule…" His breathing was harsh now and he gasped between words. "Got it." He finally managed.

"Oh, you mean did I get away safely before the Drule fire bombed the planet and systematically hunted down and took the surviving population as slaves? Um, no. I didn't." She said and sprinted ahead, leaving him as he fell out of formation behind her; slumped over with his hands on his knees gasping for air.

**3**

"Ellie! Ellie! It's up! It's up!" Elinor's wimple capped head snapped up from the table she was bent over. Mirai came running over to her and tugged on her sleeve, pulling her away from the tunic she was pinning.

She disengaged her arm away and shook her head. "I don't want to look…" She said and tried to go back to her work. She didn't want to get her hopes up. If she didn't see her name she would…she would? Well, she would just go on working in the royal laundry as she had for the last nine years. Until they finally listed her name and she received word that her family's obligation to the Crown had been officially been satisfied.

Mirai grabbed her arm again. "Come on! Scaredy cat! You've been here practically the longest! It's got to up there! You heard what His Majesty said! All obligations to the old king are forgiven…Come on! Go look!"

Elinor smiled shyly trying to hide her teeth and shook her head again. "Please…I can't…I'm just…well, I just can't. You go look, Mirai. Tell me if my name is there."

Mirai smiled, squeezed her arm and nodded. "Ok, I will…Elinor Ai'Lee cow?"

"Ai'Liaejou." Elinor corrected, stressing the soft gh sounding syllables of her surname. Arusians could never pronounce it right.

"Oh," Mirai nodded "I guess it doesn't matter you're the only Elinor down here." She said and hurried off to the holo screens in the servant's community hall.

Ellie turned her attention back to pinning down the intricate hand sewn bead work on the King's tunic so that it wouldn't be damaged as it was cleaned. She had already removed the gem stones that could tear or pull the silk and locked them away in the overseer's office. Later a jeweler would reset them. It was a difficult and detail oriented job and only the most skilled were allowed to handle the royal family's wardrobes. And most trusted. Gemstones weren't the only valuable commodity that needed minding. There was a lot of information contained in the dirty laundry of kings and princes.

Elinor was never meant to hold this position at Galra Castle. Her mother had been a doctor and her father had been a mid level politician on Tyrus and the owner of a small but exquisite property that he purchased from the Barony. As Zarkon's wars increased in scope so did the taxes on the family home until they had no choice but to surrender it and face tenure.

Her father had assumed that the auction of the property along his and her older brother's labor would have been enough. But the house was under sold, not so coincidentally back to the Baron. And so Elinor, her older sister and her mother were also impressed into tenure as well.

They had been lucky. While not wealthy by Tyrusian standards they had lived with some privilege. They were educated and her father had been able to call in what few favors he had. Her brother had joined the army, which 'paid' the most toward their debt. Her mother had petitioned to get a situation in a military field hospital, hoping that her service there might keep her daughters out of servitude. She had recommended that they be sent to live with relatives. It might have worked had those relatives not refused.

Her father had been sent to lazon mines in the Fifth Kingdom as a supervisor and her sister had gone to work in a military hospital to care for the wounded. Elinor and her mother were kept together because she was still a child. They were to be servants in a nobleman's city house. They should all have been released in five years. Or so they thought.

Politics is a dirty business and favors are not always what they seem. Her brother did get a position in the military but soon was reported missing in action and presumed dead after a battle with the Alliance ship Highlander. Her sister had gone to work at a hospital but after a year they stopped hearing from her. Any attempt to locate her turned up a dead end. Shortly after, her father had killed himself from shame, leaving her mother and twelve year old Elinor with the family's entire debt to repay by themselves. The only saving grace for mother and daughter was that they did indeed go to the house of a nobleman. They were sent to work as dishwashers in the kitchen of the Crown Prince Imperial. The hours were only long as he entertained frequently when he was home, but in spite of the steward's ever watchful eye they always had plenty to eat.

Her mother had always had hope that they would get out. She would tell Elinor stories of where they would live, and the pretty dresses she would wear again. And that they could go to the mountains on Tyrus, like they had before and pick flowers and find shiny rocks with shells in them from long ago when the mountains were under the ocean. But her mother had died of pneumonia and complications from an undiagnosed venereal disease. Now Elinor knew why they had never gone hungry.

After her mother's death she had been moved from the kitchens to the laundry. No small part in fear that perhaps she had contracted the same illness from her mother. And the new chef did not like the way she looked, which was not an accident but a blessing.

She had resigned herself that she would spend her life in service to the Crown. Really, there were worse fates than washing dishes and then later dirty linens. But that might change. That _would_ change. The new King had declared it so. That after his coronation all debts to Zarkon were fulfilled. Her tenure would be over and she would be free.

"Ellie! Ellie! It's there! It's there! You're in the first group!" Mirai ran back into the work room shouting happily. She ran to Elinor and shook her by the shoulders. "I saw it! Your name on the list! You're free!"

Elinor stared at her in stunned silence for a moment then hugged the younger girl back and they jumped up and down together laughing.

"She's not out of here yet!" Their overseer said coming out of his office to investigate the shouting and commotion. "_Gibra!_ Finish your work! Before I have you flogged!" He said to Elinor and smirked as she flinched at the insult. He turned back around and disappeared back in his office.

_But I will be soon enough. And I'll never have to hear anyone call me that again. _Elinor thought and narrowed her eyes at his back. She swallowed a lump in her throat and touched her face. _Gibra,_ he called her. Ugly.

Mirai winked at her and made an obscene gesture with her two fingers at him as he closed the door. She smiled brightly at Elinor once more before she left to finish her own shift on the other side of the laundry.

Elinor went back to her station and looked at the shirt. She ran her hand lovingly over the garment that he, her King, her sovereign and savior, had so recently worn that his scent still clung to it. She pulled free a long strand of white hair that had become caught in the embroidery and twirled it between her fingers. Her vision swam as her eyes filled with tears. _Thank you…Oh thank you! My King! _

She wiped her eyes quickly before anyone notice and tucked the hair in her pocket and went back to work.

**Glossary:**

**Qiuu rekkai: adj. **_Lit trans:_Wrong Ended. Derogatory term for a master that has become physically or emotionally dependent on their slaves. Usually reserved for romantic attachments. It derives from the ornate leash that is affixed to the collar of a pleasure slave and held by their master when he or she accompanies them in public.

_**Kh'liora mnu kae 'et k'lasa**_ Term of endearment. Lit. trans: '(your) Light has returned to my world.'

_**Lasi har le ni'var sbah**__: _Term of endearment_. _Lit. trans_. _'My colors are no longer grey.'


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Well it's been a while since I updated this story, and contrary to popular belief it is NOT abandoned. I will NEVER abandon a fic! After my last update I had some significant health and personal issues that made it very hard to focus on this story as a whole. I have been diligently working on it, in bits and pieces, written all out of chronological order. I'm currently in the editing and 'piecing together' process of Part 1. (Yes, there is a part 2 written…well, mostly written.)_

_Special thanks to Ebon-Drake for feeding my muse with their wonderful bright and shiny story "The End of Us." Their awesome characterization showed me that there can be no Haggar without Koba and that witches have feelings too! _

_Thank you Wade Wells for the public shaming—oops, I mean humbling public praise and (not so) subtle prompt to update this story. I needed that. (Your lemon is coming! I hope you like it tart!)LOL_

_I would also like to thank those of you who kept it on your 'favorites' and 'follow' list and also those came to read and re-read in spite of it being stagnant. I am in your debt. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 7**

**1**

The witch ambled slowly through the hallway smirking at the wide berth that the people she passed gave her. Koba darted ahead of her, a sort of harbinger to all, that Haggar, the Wyvern approached. Horrifying rumors of her occult-science had always swirled around her, most of her own design. It kept people guessing and at a distance. She liked them that way. Fewer eyes meant fewer questions to disturb her research.

She entered the lift as it opened and stepped inside. Unable to suppress it, she cackled out loud as Koba hissed and its occupants skittered around the pair and hastily exited, happy to wait for the next one to reach their destination. No one wanted to go where the witch was headed.

She raised her staff and lights on the control panel flickered and went out. The vehicle began descending rapidly, deep down into the basement of the castle to the floor which her laboratory encompassed.

The door opened and Koba bounded out ahead of her. She followed him, slowly walking through dimly lit corridors sealed off by blast doors. They opened of their own accord as she approached, as if my magic.

She entered the main lab and was greeted by the sounds of whirring centrifuges and quiet mumblings of people immersed in their work. It all ceased as they noticed her. The mostly Drule staff bowed and murmured _"Luada"_ in respect as she passed. Unlike most of Castle Galra's inhabitants these individuals had vied hard for their positions as researchers and assistants in Haggar's laboratory. They were from all over the Empire, graduate students, doctoral candidates and working professionals; the highest ranked in their classes and fields. Each had risked everything, tried anything to get a place studying under one of the three Wyvern scientists left in the Empire. And Haggar only wanted the best, brightest and most ambitious. If they were morally ambiguous, so much the better. It was the only way she would achieve her goal to destroy the mecha called Voltron.

She cast quick glances at those who were working on experiments, her alien eyes quick to note any changes of interest. There were several, including progress on the new planetary energy shield, that she'd like to follow up with. But first, she had to check on The Project.

She crossed through the large room and through another doorway, which normally would have required several manually entered codes, a DNA and iris scan to access but for her it merely swished open, again as if by magic.

She entered a smaller version of the larger industrial sized lab she had crossed through, and saw her personal assistant, the only other being in the universe who had independent access to her private laboratory, hunched over a microscope with is back to her. His long white hair tied back and braided in a cue that trailed down, just off the center seam of his lab coat to his waist and was covered on the crown with a surgeon's cap. He was using a robot to manipulate the subject of his study.

"_Jolan_, is there anything new?" She asked.

He merely grunted, and then said, "Come see for yourself."

She lay her staff down on her desk and walked over to him. He moved off the eye pieces and she lowered her cowl, her milky nictitating membranes slid back and forth over her beetle black eyes, moistening them. Her pupils contracted into thin horse-shoe shapes at the change in light. She bent over to look and gasped in surprise.

"They are alive!" She exclaimed, the slits that formed her nostrils flaring in excitement. "Bless my old husk of a heart. They are alive. Just as I suspected!"

"Yes, _Meneh_, they are." He answered evenly. "Each one, like an individual cell."

"Astounding!" Haggar exclaimed raising her fearsome visage up from the microscope, her thin lips peeled back in a smile baring her tiny needle like teeth to her pink gums. "So that is how they did it…That is how it remained unscathed, unchanged after so many battles. So many centuries. It is self healing…" She trailed off and paused calculating this new knowledge with what she had already, then said,"We are so close. Soon the secret to Voltron's destruction will be ours and my mission will be complete."

"Yes, soon." He agreed, resolutely.

Haggar looked at him closely and mused at the irony, not for the first time, of how different _Jolan_ was from Lotor, son of Zarkon and now King of Korrinoth, in spite of the fact that he was his clone. Technically, they were the same. Closer than brothers. Closer than twins. Genetically identical in every way, save for one small marker that she had placed on his genome deliberately so that she could tell her samples apart when they were nothing more than an artfully arranged tangle of genetic material waiting to be injected into an ovum.

Their faces and coloring were identical. They shared the same height and luxurious mane of hair but there the resemblance stopped. _Jolan_ was slimmer, lithe and wiry; never knowing the rigors of the hard physical training that gave Lotor his bulk. Nor did _Jolan_ have his gregariousness, impulsive tendencies or bravado. _Jolan_ was methodical, calculating and reticent. The only personality trait they shared was a tendency to brood and sulk. Haggar knew that was because of the vastly different circumstances in their childhood. Zarkon had been a harsh and demanding parent. Satisfied with nothing but excellence, yet inconsistent with his expectations and rewards. For better and worse he shaped Lotor to the role he would have to play. She supposed that she had shaped _Jolan_ the same way, raising him in an environment where the endless quest for knowledge and logic took the place of base emotions. He was hers and her world was all he had ever known.

It was an act of pettiness that led her to keep him. He merely had been one of many.

Decades ago Zarkon's paramour had been desperate to win back the flagging interest of the King and had begged her to intervene. Haggar had at first refused; the woman had distracted the great king from his realm long enough. But, later, in her meditations, the probabilities became too great to ignore. Another variable was needed if she was to be able to continue her mission uninterrupted.

The evidence suggested that Zarkon's son and heir would attempt a coup, sooner than later. Within ten years the probabilities had predicted. The Ninth Kingdom must remain secure or The Project would be jeopardy. So she acquiesced and the woman became pregnant and bore the most perfect of babies. He was as perfect a blend of human and Drule that there ever was. Haggar had built him herself, sorting through traits and predispositions; activating and deactivating mutations one by one; mapping his genome with exquisite care. Enhancing the best of both parents and recessing the worst.

Lotor's birth had stirred something in her that she thought was long dead. Perhaps because she was one of the last of her kind, or perhaps because he was, after all her personal creation, she wanted something of her own. So she kept one, just one. And in the confines of her private laboratory, with the use of a human slave_, Jolan_, Lotor's clone, was gestated and born in secret. And lived in secret, alone except of the company of the witch and her cat.

**2**

"If you want my opinion, you can't trust the Alliance any more than you can trust Lotor." Sven said. "I don't like how they're acting like Altea is already part of the Alliance and Allura's co-operation is guaranteed." He continued.

"I agree. That's why I never let them establish such a strong troop presence on Pollux. I saw what they did over there. Once they set up a base, they'll never leave. You'll just get more of them, bringing ideas and making demands. Thinking that their way of life is what's best for you. Just like the Drule, except they have a more polite way of going about it." Bandor responded.

"Sneakier, you mean." Sven said.

"Indeed." Bandor said. "So have you spoken to Captain Kogane yet about that new information?"

"No. I'm waiting to see what they say today before I decide if we should." Sven answered.

Bandor nodded in agreement and frowned with impatience at the blank holo screen.

"What's taking them so long?" He griped.

**3**

Allura and Keith found Coran waiting for them in his study.

"Ah, there you are Princess! Captain Kogane! I hope I didn't interrupt anything important." Coran exclaimed when he saw them.

"Oh no, we had finished our meeting we were…Keith was, just—going over some things with me from flight drill." Allura haltingly explained.

"Ah, yes, flight drill. I remember when I was a young man how we loved to go over flight drill." The prime minster said with a tight smile looking pointedly at Keith.

Keith clenched his jaw and Allura said nothing but quickly looked away and blushed.

"So, I imagine that Bandor is going to want to talk about how quickly we can mobilize and go to war with Lotor." Coran tactfully changed the subject after a moment.

"I'm still against the idea until we hear Lotor's terms." Allura said quickly.

"I understand, and I agree. Any action we take should be on our terms not Bandor's. Ally or not, Pollux still has yet to risk or contribute what Altea has."Coran concurred.

Keith narrowed his eyes at the councilor. "Just a week ago you couldn't wait to go to war. What's changed?"

"Oh, many things Captain, and nothing. I still believe we must eliminate Korrinoth as a threat in order to maintain our peace and independence. But we must do these things for our own advantage, not that of others." Coran explained. "Rushing into war will only give others what they want. And if we're not very careful one of those 'others' might be Lotor."

Keith was unable to suppress the look of surprise that flickered across his face and Coran merely laughed.

"Did you think I didn't know about the troop shortage, Captain? When I requested those re-enforcements I had asked for three times what they agreed to send." The older man raised an eyebrow clearly amused at Keith's discomfort.

"They don't call him 'The Strategist' for nothing, Keith." Allura reminded softy.

Keith looked down at the floor for a moment and cleared his throat.

"I was going to—" He began then stopped. He should have known that there was nothing that happened in Altean politics that 'Raible the Strategist' was not either fully aware of or had instigated into existence to further his agenda.

"Of course you were." Coran smiled and made a placating gesture with his hand. "Quite frankly I'm surprised they're sending as many as they are. It must have something to do with Queen Xarnaren's petition for asylum." He continued

"What? Queen Xarnaren is alive?!" Allura exclaimed. "You're certain?"

Coran nodded. "She is. She managed to smuggle her daughter off of Korrinoth when Zarkon launched his attack on us. Then she fled during the uprising into exile to the Far Universe, knowing at the time that neither Zarkon nor Lotor had the ability to mount much of a search for them. Lotor has offered a bounty on them, but I don't think that he cares if they're found or not."

"This changes everything." Allura pursed her lips together in thought. If Queen Xarnaren of the Fifth Kingdom was still alive then there was real hope that the Fifth Kingdom would continue to revolt against Lotor. If they could join forces and time both of their attacks together then there was a chance both Altea and Nemon could be free! "When did you know this Coran?"

"I'm more interested in _how_ you knew this." Keith stated pointedly.

"Oh, I was only certain a few days ago. Colonel Thompson and Lorn have become quite used to our hospitality. They seem to forget that our household staff have ears." Coran supplied casually. He didn't add that he had specifically placed Terran speakers in the service of Thompson and Lorn and instructed them to behave as though they didn't understand a word. The servants, distrustful of the Alliance and irritated at the arrogance of their guests, had been only too happy to comply. He had the actual conversation between Colonel Thompson and the Queen recorded and transcribed sitting on his desk. According to Thompson, Xarnaren's asylum was as good as granted. It was just the problem of where to put her. He had a feeling they would want it to be on Altea. Sheltering Lotor's enemies would put them in even more danger, but therein lay his path to finally get the troops numbers he had asked for from the Alliance.

"So, what is it you suggest Coran? What do you think we should say to Bandor?" Allura asked deferring to her Prime Minister.

"Stall him. He's too eager for this fight. He's never known what Lotor's forces can really do because he's always had either Voltron or the Alliance to protect him." Coran replied.

Keith agreed, although he said nothing. In his opinion, Bandor still lacked discipline and good judgment. If it wasn't for Sven's guidance, Keith was sure that the young king would have had his head presented to Zarkon in a box years ago.

Coran opened the communication channel. "So, we are gathering information and convincing Bandor to wait. Agreed?" He said and took his seat as the holo-screen blinked into existence and the server searched for a sub-space connection.

"Agreed." Keith and Allura spoke in unison and took their seats in front of the holo-cam.

**4**

Commander Naro Yoi, Chief of The Ninth Kingdom's military intelligence, smiled as the virus he implanted in the weather satellites that orbited Altea intercepted what looked to be a promising piece of intelligence. It had begun with Princess Allura and King Bandor sharing some mendacity about the weather. He knew not to be fooled; all their communications began with it. He especially knew not to be fooled when the parties involved were the King of Pollux, Admiral Holgresson, the Altean Prime Minister, the Princess and Kogane, Captain of the mecha Voltron. The Alteans were planning something big, and it had nothing to do with the weather.

Suddenly the channel scrambled and went dark. Their system had begun its encryption. He smiled and launched a wraith to re-assemble the fragmented information and send it directly back to him. Now the fun was going to begin.

**5**

On Pollux, the holo screen chimed alerting of an incoming transmission. Bandor clicked the receiver on and the image of Allura seated with Coran and Keith on either side of her appeared on the screen.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness." Bandor began, addressing Allura first as she was the highest ranked. "Prime Minister Raible and Captain Kogane."

"Good evening, Your Majesty, Admiral Holgresson." Allura returned the formal greeting and Coran and Keith bowed their heads slightly in salute.

"I trust that you are well, cousin? And that the weather on Altea agrees with you?" Bandor asked.

"I am well, Cousin, as I hope you are. The weather on Altea is as pleasant as can be expected this time of year. " Allura replied. She heard Keith shift in his chair behind her and watched Sven frown impatiently. She knew that the traditional formalities between Bandor and herself annoyed the two Terran natives, yet they had a very practical function. The banalities delayed any real discussion of classified or inflammatory topics until a secure transmission was assured.

"I see, the weather here has been capricious of late, as you well can imagine." Bandor rejoined eyeing the fluctuating bars at the edge of his screen as they finished encrypting the signal.

"Indeed. It is a common climate we share." Allura said as she saw first one then two and finally all four bars light up green signaling that the transmission was secure.

"Your Majesty, King Bandor, may I begin?" Coran asked abruptly.

Bandor's eyebrows shot up at Coran's uncharacteristic insistence. "Of course, Coran. Go ahead."

"With the death of Zarkon, both Pollux and Altea are at a crossroads." Coran began. "We have the opportunity to be rid of the threat of Lotor and the Ninth Kingdom for good."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Bandor smiled.

Coran nodded and continued. "It is not a decision to take lightly. We will only have one chance, and if we fail it will mean our deaths, the death and enslavement of our citizens and the loss of the entire quadrant to the Drule."

Keith and Sven shared a knowing look as Coran finished speaking.

Bandor paused, as if looking for the right words. "I am aware of this. Just as I am aware that the longer we wait the more time Lotor will have to rebuild his forces."

"Your Majesty, even with Lotor's forces as weak as they are, and as distracted as he is with the Fifth Kingdom, an invasion would be too great a risk." Keith reasoned.

"I don't think—" Bandor began.

"He's right, Bandor. We've been through the numbers, we can't secure it. We need to double our manpower." Allura interjected.

Bandor shifted in his chair and glanced back at Sven and nodded.

"Well, we had a feeling you'd say that, too."Sven said. "As you know, we have been receiving information from the insurgents on the Fifth Kingdom. It seems that Lotor is not as well supported within the Drule Supremacy as he'd like to think he is. Zarkon made a lot of enemies during his reign. And they don't think Lotor is much of an improvement." He continued.

"How interesting." Coran nodded, thoughtfully.

"You see, Allura, there are many that remember the good relationship between the Fifth Kingdom and Altea that they had with your father, King Alfor. Many who would like to see it restored." Bandor said. "There are also those who could contest Lotor's claim to the throne of the Ninth Kingdom."

"Such as?" Keith asked. He had his suspicions who Bandor meant, but he wasn't about to put words in the young king's mouth. He knew that Sven and Romelle had been receiving good intelligence from someone very high up in Lotor's circle, but he couldn't be certain who until he heard it straight from Bandor. Or Sven.

Bandor laughed. "Alright, fine, be that way. Tabor, Duke of Nemon."

"Tabor…I knew it…" Coran mused. "Brilliant!" He exclaimed, his mind already scouting ahead for the possible advantages of Tabor's treason, now that his hunch was confirmed.

_So did I…_Keith thought and nodded thoughtfully to himself.

"You're kidding!" Allura exclaimed. Although now it made perfect sense, she still couldn't believe that Lotor's own cousin would betray him like that.

Bandor shook his head. "No, cousin, I'm not. The Drule are an ambitious and disloyal bunch. It's fortunate for us that Zarkon's family is probably worse than most."

"But, Your Majesty, as much support as we would have if we were successful, we still need take and secure Korrinoth. For that we need boots on the ground. And a fail proof plan to get rid of Lotor in the initial strike. That is going to take very careful planning. Timing is everything." Keith pointed out, looking from Bandor to Sven.

"Leave that to me, Keith."Sven said and brought his hand to his chin as if in thought.

Keith nodded, mimicking the gesture. It looked like a casual motion, but in reality it was a pre-arranged signal between the two commanders that there was more to discuss, off the record.

A small chime sounded alerting the group to an encryption error. The signal dropped to three bars then two and a half. The channel security was degrading.

"Well, this has been very enlightening. I'm glad we all had a chance to catch up on with each other." Coran said concluding the discussion.

"Indeed, this has been very nice. We should find time to do this again in the near future. I will consider your suggestions. Enjoy your evening Cousin, Prime minister, Captai—"Bandor was cut off as the signal failed.

Allura, Coran and Keith looked back and forth at one another, alarmed.

"That can't be good." Allura noted feeling her stomach drop to her feet.

"No, not at all." Coran confirmed, expelling a heavy breath. Clearly someone had been listening or trying to listen to their communication. A cold chill ran down his spine and he prayed it wasn't Korrinoth. One hint of what they were planning would bring Lotor and all his fury down on them.

"I'll talk to Shorty about it, but I don't think they broke the code." Keith said and Allura and Coran looked at him curiously.

"Shorty upgraded the castle communication system with the same security that detects hacker-ghost code in the Lion's comm system. The dumbed down version he told me is basically he inserted a virus that shuts down the infected system and follows the wraith back to its source and destroys it and the program that created it while purging the stolen data. He calls it "GhostBuster." He explained.

"That is quite incredible, Captain, I wasn't aware that tech from the Lions could be integrated to work with our systems." Coran admitted.

"Neither was I, until he did it." Keith replied.

**6**

Yoi scowled at the holo screen in front of him as the Altean communication channel he was hacking was abruptly shut down. _It must be a new security feature,_ he mused. Quite clever, end the transmission as soon as a ripple was detected. It would lead to false alarms but it would definitely keep people like him from breeching it at will. But it had taken so long he was sure he had gotten valuable information about the Altean's plans.

He ran it through a filter, trying to get the bits of fragmented data to come together in a cohesive image or audio clip. It didn't matter which. If he had the image he could have the computer read their lips, if he had the audio, even better.

Right after his wraith began retrieving data there was a slight breakdown in the code and he could make out the Prime Minister raising his bushy eyebrows and saying 'How interesting.' There was more, but it was heavily fragmented. He ran the filter through second time and an image of Kogane morphed into the Princess asking the question "You're kidding?!" The clip looped around three times in quick succession the question repeating over and over and sounding almost sarcastic.

He frowned in annoyance and ran it through a third time and the message was completely garbled and the holos warped. He played it back once again and this time the holo flashed to a close up of Kogane mouthing the phrase "timing is everything" in slow motion and next there was clip of the King of Pollux laughing. And then, suddenly, the whole thing began to degrade right in front of him and he lost it all, including the still images.

"Fuck!" He cursed and pounded his fist through his holo-keyboard and onto the hard surface of his desk. He leaned back in his chair, frustrated, and raked a hand through his hair. This was something new. It must be a trap door to escape an infinite loop, whenever there where too many attempts with the wrong code it recognized it and caused the entire message to disintegrate. Simple and timeless, and rendered obsolete with his current software. Or so he had thought.

He tried to access the file again and his screen went blue and then the holo screen went dark as his whole system crashed. He sat for a moment staring in disbelief as a flat two dimensional blue screen booted up with the message "Missing Operating System" and a blinking cursor in the upper right hand corner. He didn't even have a holo-keyboard to move it with.

"Mother…fucker…" He mumbled as he realized what had just happened. His wraith had been followed. And whatever followed it had just infiltrated and wiped his system. He thought of the massive amounts of data that had just been lost or stolen by their enemies and jumped out of his chair sending it rolling backwards.

"Motherfucker!" He shouted, enraged. He slammed his chair back against the desk so hard it toppled backwards onto the floor. He kicked it forcefully out of his way and paced the his office trying to get control over his emotions.

After several minutes he calmed and retrived his chair up and sat down back at his desk. He unplugged the connection of his hard drive and picked it up. He turned it over and began removing the back cover to see what systems had been damaged and if there was any data that could be retrieved. He had to fix this. He had to find out what this 'wraith hunter' was and how this happened.

As he worked, he went back over the brief snippets of defragmented portions he had seen. The first clip of Raible saying "how interesting" the second of Allura's incredulous face, then Kogane saying 'timing is everything' and last Bandor laughing immediately before the program destroyed itself. It almost seemed like it was mocking him! Was it some sort of AI? Whoever had designed this for them was a genius. An evil fucking genius.

**Glossary:**

_Luada__:_ (Wyvvern) Formal title. (_no gender) _No literal translation. Closest possible Terran: 'Doctor.'

_Meneh:_ (Wyvvern) _(no gender)_. Caregiver.

_Jolan:_ (Wyvvern)_ (no gender). _Youngling or child.


	9. Chapter 9

_Sally On__: I don't know what to say except THANK YOU so much for your thoughtful reviews. And for reading and liking this. Keep 'em coming! You're AWESOME. _

_Bknbu__: I'm certainly glad you are liking my dark and twisted imagination. Sometimes I'm writing and I'm like "Whoa! Where did __that__ come from!" But, as a fan of GRR Martin and other dark!fiction/fantasy writers I guess the 'grit' is rubbing off on me. I just hope that I include enough 'love and happiness' that I don't fall into the pit of "grimdark" despair! _

_Wade Wells:__ LOL, You're welcome! Sorry about the long wait…this thing is like wrestling and 800 pound angsty gorilla. I am 'creating' the language, but I must confess that I'm using several existing languages as a template for grammar, phonetics and cadence. _

_Ebon-drake:__ You're the one inspiring MY muse! I hope I can continue to keep this meandering tale on track and interesting! And thank you for your great ideas concerning IT and most of all for your encouragement to continue this story. It is very much appreciated._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**Razors Edge**

**Chapter 8**

**1**

Duchess Sojourn Veras-Lith of Moiria, southern most continent of Altea, bristled with annoyance. It had a taken her a week to get Prime Minister Raible to schedule a time to meet with her and then she was unceremoniously bumped off the queue because the little _princeling_, Bandor- no, he was a _king_ now- snapped his fingers.

It was just more evidence of how Raible took her and her people for granted, just as he took her lazon. After Zarkon's defeat the Prime Minister had sent her nearly all the forty thousand captured prisoners from Zarkon's armada. Without asking, without notice. The same as he did with the refugees from the latest uprising in the Fifth Kingdom. It seemed the rule was if no one else wants them; send them to Moiria, with the rest of the garbage.

She laughed ruefully a little at that, the corners of her lips turning up with wry amusement. It was, after all, how her people came to Moiria as well. Most of their grandparents were Polluxian prisoners of war that no one wanted yet didn't have the intestinal fortitude to execute.

Her smile faded, however, as she reminded herself about the reasons for her meeting. Placing the Fifth Kingdom's refugees had been easy. But these from the Ninth were a growing problem. He sent them here stating, "The unique demographics of Moiria lend you to be particularly adept at managing this issue." He added the instructions that they be well kept in order to engender more leverage when negotiating with Korrinoth. Did he have any idea how hard that was? All her prisons, military or otherwise were filled to capacity with forty thousand men who needed food, clothing and medical care. The daily expense was enormous. Then there was the issue of keeping the guards, especially those from the Fifth, from abusing them. Did he not understand that these Kingdoms were bitter enemies? Or was one Drule the same as any other to him?

_Well, that's a bureaucrat, for you, all high minded decisions and big ideas, no clue how others have to dig in the muck to make them a reality. _She shifted in her chair, impatiently.

She took a deep calming breath and looked out the vast window of her personal study, across the bay at the blue and white glacier cliffs and behind them at Peilei, the largest volcano on Altea. It had been continuously erupting since before the planet was settled. A shower of sparks erupted from the cone and she could see the red glow of the lava flow as it reflected off the ice, snaking its way through the rocks. Billowing clouds of steam surged into the crystal blue sky as the lava hit the water and sank into it's depths. She smiled not only because the natural show was magnificent to behold, but also because it was increasing the coastline by five feet a year.

The sun was setting, or as close to setting as it would get this time of season, its angle giving an ethereal glow to the steam-clouds and creating rainbows around their edges. Afire Bay had been described as the place where heaven met hell. But, truthfully, all of Moiria could fit that description, it was a hard land made of vast stretches of frigid gypsum desserts, glittering ice fields and magnificent glaciers interspersed with volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. A land of extremes and contradictions, just like her people.

Less than one hundred years ago Moiria was a prison colony. Her people were formerly from Pollux, the losers of a failed invasion of Altea. The Alteans sent them to away to the end of mapped land to hopefully disappear forever. That plan didn't quite workout as well as hoped. The region's copious geothermal activity saved them from a freezing death. The first settlers managed to utilize the hot water geysers and steam as warmth and energy. First, piping the heat into ice caves to avoid freezing, next to run machines, then whole factories. And later drills. Drills that tunneled deep into the ice, past the bedrock where enormous veins of lazon were discovered.

They had found something of value and ironically, they, themselves, became valuable again to the Alteans. Fortunately years had past since the invasion and memories were short and the need for cheap energy was long.

Her father, the democratically elected Governor General, had wisely refused all offers of the Alteans to aid them in their mining endeavors, instead making deals with the Drule of the Fifth Kingdom, who, also ironically, were considered more trustworthy to the Moirians than the Altean nobility. It had been a good plan. At least for a while.

The duchess scowled again at the blank holoscreen. _Damn you, Raible!_ _One day you will not get to treat me like this. Treat _us_ like this. _She wanted to leave. Turn off the holo and just leave. Go have dinner with her husband and children for once and let the Prime Minster come back to an empty chair on the screen. Had he been anyone else she would have. She would have not been wasting her time sitting here waiting like someone in need of a favor! This would have been delegated down to the Secretary of Energy, or even lower still, some lackey of hers. _He better not cancel, send a message that 'important matters to the crown have emerged' and reschedule. _

He wouldn't do this to Bjorn VanNoster, Governor of New Rhinelind. Or to Vladovitch Russo, Duke of the Sommerlind. No, he left her and Moiria dangling because to him, they didn't come first. Not like his blue bloods; his pure bloods.

King Altarus had ennobled them only a generation ago, creating the Duchy of Moiria. He had done it as much to heal old wounds as to protect his Kingdom from the emerging power of the former would-be invaders. He had believed that they would join their House to some other noble House of Altea. Literally marrying them into the close knit coven of ruling Families. Her father had other ideas, though. He was reluctant to destroy his bloodline by the dangerous practice of cousin fucking, which was where the requirements of the short sighted Altean property laws were leading. He found a loophole. The law only said noble blood must marry noble blood. And so, when it came time she married, Taron, the second son of Baron Lith, cousin of King Gharn of the Fifth Kingdom. A Drule.

Like all second sons he had an army, but no land to camp them on. That, according to Drule custom, he was supposed to get for himself. And like all Altean noble women, she had plenty of dower lands but no real army to protect it. Neither Altarus nor his advisors could find any reason to disallow the union. Well, none that would not completely offend their powerful Drule neighbors.

Her father was labeled a Progressive and private opinions of the 'scandalous inter-species' couple became sharply divided. It was a brilliant match and a brilliant move politically as well. The Fifth Kingdom's energy needs filled the coffers of Moiria to overflowing and her power and influence over the Altean government were growing dangerously fast. All the while Moiria maintained her independence not bound to any House or Family by marriage or treaty. That, more than anything else, enraged other Houses just as it struck fear in their hearts. Yet, there was nothing they could do about it. Taron was as noble as any of them, more so, his bloodlines were older and a Drule army now made Moiria its home. Soon the soldiers of that army did what encamped soldiers do. They took wives and husbands and integrated among the local population.

There were many scientists who swore that human and Drule could not reproduce. And when they did the same scientists swore the offspring would be infertile. They were only partly correct. Due to a recessive gene mutation one out of four males of mixed parentage was sterile. A fact that caused those that were fertile to prove it…often. It resulted in nearly half of the current population of Moiria being either Drule or mixed race.

The 'inter-mingling' was scandalous at the time when relations were friendly but now; it made 'Moirian' a dirty word. A euphemism for half-breed. 'Mory', along with 'bluey' had become a racial slur on both Altea and Pollux even before the war, but in those days no one dared say it publically. Now, such niceties were a thing of the past. Pollux already had strict laws in place to keep the races segregated and it wouldn't be long before Altea, too, enacted laws to keep all Drule and mixed bloods on Moiria. The thought was like bile in her throat.

_How quickly they forget_, thought. It was Taron, her husband, the now dirty Drule, and his knowledge of how his people fight and what tactics Zarkon was likely to use that had saved them in the end. He had warned Alfor, had told him that The Usurper could not be trusted. Zarkon was hungry for power and had to make a show of force to keep the other Drule Kingdoms at bay. Altea was too close and too valuable a prize for him to leave alone. It was on his advice that Alfor constructed the complex emergency shelters in the caves and the people of Altea were able to survive.

During the fighting, Taron lost his leg and nearly his own life trying to save the King and his family. In the end, it was all he could do to order a contingent of soldiers to rescue the remaining two of Alfor's children less than an hour before the place where they hid was burned to the ground. Only one survived, and that was the youngest, Allura, Princess of Altea.

The Duchess had mixed feelings about the Princess. She had an innate sense of justice, like her father, and she was a brave as that lion she piloted. But she was also young and insecure, eager to please and too easily led. A queen must be fiercely independent. She must have a defiant streak as well, an ability to disregard those closest to her and stay her course, considering only the actions that benefitted the preservation of her Kingdom and it's people in the end. But, unfortunately that up-jumped house-maid turned governess Raible had ruined his marriage over had bullied and manipulated such things out of her. Tragically, the woman had died. But the Duchess had no doubt that Raible would continue wield his influence over the Princess until she married and ascended the throne. And probably long after.

Why she had to be married to ascend the throne and did not simply do so when she had reached the age of majority this past year was a mystery. That nonsense about keeping the throne of Altea safe in case she were kidnapped by Zarkon's princeling—_King… Lotor is king_ _now,_ she reminded herself, a chill running down her spine- was as flimsy an excuse as she had ever heard. _It's not like Raible is exactly hunting the galaxy for suitors, is it?_ _And why would he? When he is the de-facto King of Altea. _She glared at the blank holoscreen again.

'_Kings and queens and guillotines…' _she hummed the first bar of a nursery rhyme and frowned as she tried to remember the rest and couldn't. _Kings and queens, indeed._

Leadership was a hard and thankless job. Her father had worn the rank of Duke like a hair shirt. As a little girl, he had said that he had hoped to retire before he died, not after. She didn't know what that meant then, but she did now. How often in the beginning did she wish that she could step down? Just walk away from her duty let some one else be responsible? Her inheritance passed to her at the start of Zarkon's War, she had been a young woman then, in her fortieth year and in the prime of her life. Although it was barely enough time for her youngest to have grown out of his childhood and into a young adult, she felt like she had aged two lifetimes since then.

When Zarkon issued the his demand that Altea surrender her sovereignty to him, at least half of the nobles packed up their families and their money had fled to Terra as fast as they could secure transport, vowing to rally aid. She, unlike Alfor, was not surprised when none returned.

Zarkon's armada attacked and the Alteans put up a fierce defense, believing that his simultaneous invasion of the Fifth Kingdom would weaken his front. They met his first wave with equal force, and drove The Demon King out of their atmosphere and back into space. It was his second wave and third and the collateral damage from the fire-fall that scorched the earth which finally crushed them to their knees. They had underestimated him and over estimated themselves. Zarkon knew how soft a target Altea was and sought a quick and stunning victory. He had sent the bulk of his forces to Altea to whet their appetite for the real fighting that would occur on Nemon.

When Alfor was captured and Rhineland and Lowen fell, she knew all hope was lost. Without their king and without leadership they were flailing. In a move born out of pure desperation she stepped up and took command of what was left of Altea. She understood that surrender was not an option. Zarkon knew they were beaten, yet he continued his attack. They had resisted and he intended to make an example of them. She called the retreat. She had sent one last message to Vlad Russo, late father of the current duke. It was short and to the point. _Go to ground. Save what is left before all is lost. _

Then, without waiting for word of her husband's fate, she gathered her civilians and sent them to the same ice caves that sheltered their grandparents. After that she ordered all remaining military instillations and mining operations destroyed. Then she set her own country on fire with the lazon that had built it. A blue white inferno raged, melting a mile of ice down to the rock beneath and then burning the rock. For more than a year it showered energy down from plume that reached the stratosphere. It nearly killed them but it kept Zarkon from landing his forces there and taking the valuable resource for himself. Scorched craters of obsidian still scarred the land and the vitrified stone shimmered in the eternal sun, suitable additions for a land of fire and ice.

**2**

"You'd better let Darrel know about this." Coran advised Keith.

"Lance and him are out for the night. I'll get him on his comm. In the meantime, I better check on this myself." Keith said, still wondering how much, if any, information had passed into the enemy's hands.

Coran's comm chimed. He glanced at the signature and sighed.

"What is it?" Allura asked, frowning.

"Oh, I had left the Duchess of Moiria waiting when Bandor's transmission came through." He said nonchalantly.

"She has been waiting all this time?" Allura asked her eyes wide.

"Yes, I left her on stand by; Bandor is the King of Pollux! She's not going anywhere!"

_Bandor might be a king but he doesn't supply Altea with ninety percent of its lazon energy._ Keith clenched his jaw and kept his opinions to himself. "Excuse me, Princess? Coran? By your leave, I'd like to check on this security issue."

"Of course, Keith. Let me know immediately what's going on." Allura said.

Without bothering to wait for Coran's acknowledgement Keith bowed and turned to leave. Allura watched him for a moment as he walked away. She turned back to Coran and found him staring at her intently.

"Allura—"He began.

"Coran, the Duchess is waiting." Allura interrupted. She knew the direction his conversation was likely to take and, quite frankly, she didn't want to hear it.

"Yes, of course, she is. I should go attend to that business." He said noting the defensive edge to her voice.

"I'll go with you."

"Princess, that's not necessary. The Duchess can be a most unpleasant person." _Especially when she has been left on hold this long, _Coran mused.

"Of course it is. I am the Princess of Altea. Any business that concerns my subjects is not too unpleasant for me to deal with." Allura asserted. The Duchess might be in a difficult mood, but she had every right to be. Coran had dumped all forty thousand Drule prisoners on her and the Altean military still owed her years of back payments for lazon over and above her tithe to the Crown.

Coran opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, and then paused before he said, "You're absolutely right, Your Highness. The sooner we better get it over with, the better."

He activated the holoscreens and accessed the Duchess' channel.

**3**

"I know next to nothing about graphics, except for avatars and how to custom build characters in games." Shorty admitted. His techy skills had been honed at New West Point, focusing on weaponized code breaking programs and security.

"Well, then you know more than you think you do." She smiled and took a sip of her drink. "It's really not that hard. It's really just tedious at times, especially if there's no template."

"So, you can build your own?"

"Yeah… If I'm doing custom rendering I like Gaia because it's easier to import from external files and the create feature lets you draw whatever in the glow box. Here, let me show you…" Jeanine answered reaching for her comm and opening up a page. "I could draw a glass with the stylus, but that would take too long. So I'll just do like this…" She scanned an image of her glass then projected the translucent 3-D floating image slightly above the table. She opened another empty frame beside it and dragged the glass over to it and dropped it in with her finger.

"Cool." He said noticing her well manicured naturals nails and pretty hands as she opened a tool bar to the left side of the box. _They look so soft. _He thought, suddenly wondering what it would be like to hold one of them.

"So, to get it to look solid and _real,_ I have to adjust the refraction and texture, you know, because it's translucent." She poked at an icon and picked up her stylus and poked at numerous different points on the image. Suddenly several tabs appeared at all twenty-four corners of the box. She minimized the image in the box and separated each tab out into a collage of more than one hundred and twenty thumbnail layers.

Shorty frowned as the cohesive picture of the glass was reduced to its individual parts. The layers were nothing more than blobs of mono chromatic colors that made up the incomplete outline and interior of the glass and its contents. He wondered how she was going to put them all back together.

She saw his interest and continued with the rendering. Quickly she modified the tones and textures and began reassembling the layers over each other, then removing them to make adjustments. Finally satisfied she began to reconstruct the glass. Once it was complete she copied the image and projected it onto the table, nearly indistinguishable from her real glass next to it.

"What manner of sorcery is going on here?" Lance asked as he and Caroline returned to the table.

"Jeanine was just showing me how cool her job is." Shorty replied.

Jeanine smiled shyly and blushed a little. "It's not really that cool."

"I dunno, looks pretty cool to me." Lance admitted reaching his hand across the table and swiping his hand through the image, his fingers seeming to disappear as they passed through.

"Oh, wow." Caroline gasped.

Jeanine frowned. "Hmm, I should have added a liquid layer, so it would warp in space when you did that." She recaptured the image and opened another glow box and tool bar and poked at and icon and then the center of the image with her stylus. The place where she had poked began to glow then a ring expanded, like ripples on water throughout the image, wrapping around then back before fading completely.

"What's that?" Shorty asked fascinated.

"Oh, the new version of Shockwave. Watch." She waited until the shimmering had stopped and then move the image back to its spot on the table. "Try again." She said to Lance.

He looked at her a moment then waved his hand through the image once more. This time his fingers seemed to distort the glass around them and it flowed around them like a viscous liquid, coalescing back into a solid when they were through.

"Whoa!" He said. "That's amazing! How did you do that?"

"Wow!" Caroline gasped. "Just wow!"

Jeanine shrugged.

Lance looked at Shorty questioningly.

"I dunno, man, and I watched her do it." He laughed.

"It's nothing special, really. It's mostly the programs…anyone can do it." Jeanine deflected.

"No, not anyone. Only an artist can do that." Shorty complimented.

Jeanine smiled a little. "Well, maybe." She admitted, tilting her head down bashfully.

Just then a waitress approached asking if they needed another round, Lance nodded gesturing to his glass and Caroline's and then asked, "You guys?"

"Yeah, I'll have one." Shorty said draining his glass and smiling at Jeanine. "Do you need a refill?"

"Yeah, I think so." She nodded and smiled back and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

_She has beautiful hair. _He thought as he admired the way the light shimmered on the glossy black strands.

The waitress left and returned with their order and Lance ordered some food for the table and took Caroline back out to the dance floor.

"He sure does like to dance." Jeanine noted.

"Yeah, it's a Terran thing, I think." Shorty answered. "He's from Nebraska, in North America."

"Oh, really? Caroline is from there too. Somewhere on the peninsula, Flora? I think…" Jeanine supplied.

"And where are you from?" Shorty asked.

"Ebb. My parents are doctors, the whole family still lives there." She answered taking a sip of her drink.

"Really?"

"Everyone but me. My parents were so disappointed." She elaborated.

"Disappointed! Why?"

"I'm the black sheep. All my brothers and sisters are either doctors or scientists. I have one cousin that became a lawyer…believe me, it was a huge scandal in the family. Until I dropped out of medical school and became an artist." She explained. "Jameson, the lawyer cousin, was so happy. All the heat was finally off of him!"

Shorty laughed a little. "That's a shame…they should be proud of you. You're smart, talented, beautiful….funny —"

"You think I'm beautiful?" She asked leveling her gaze at him and leaning forward slightly, biting her full lower lip.

He paused for a second and looked at her thoughtfully, evaluating her features. Large dark, almond shaped eyes, high cheek bones, long but straight distinctive nose, full and shapely lips and golden brown skin. And that hair! Long, black and shiny like a raven's wing. "Yes." He said leaning towards her, "Yes, I think you're beautiful." He cupped her cheek and drew her closer to kiss her. Then his comm rang. It was Keith's signature, the ring tone indicating it was important. He had to take it. "Damn it!" He cursed.

She drew back abruptly. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know." He said glancing at Lance still dancing with Caroline. "Excuse me, please." He said getting up from the table and heading into an employee entrance.

"Of course." She replied, frowning nervously, noticing that several patrons had noticed Shorty's hasty exit. Lance returned to the table immediately, leaving Caroline standing bewildered on the dance floor.

"Where'd Shorty go?" He asked.

"Jeanine shrugged. "His comm went off and he got up and left. He went through there." She pointed. "Is everything okay?"

Lance frowned and checked his comm. "I think so. Hang on." He said and exited through the same doors that Shorty disappeared through.

Caroline came back to the table."That was weird, huh? Did he say what's wrong?" She asked.

Jeanine shook her head. "No." She looked around the bar. The band continued to play and people continued to dance but nearly all conversation had ceased. The people looked as though they were waiting for an emergency signal of some kind. _It happens so often they are used to it._ The thought gave her a chill.

Lance walked back in calmly, smiling. As if on cue the patrons noted his relaxed demeanor and picked up their conversations where they left off and the band played something slow.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to run off and leave you like that." He said and kissed Caroline on the cheek.

"Did something happen?" She asked.

"It's a network thing, no incoming." He explained. "Shorty will be back in a second, this is his department." He said to Jeanine.

"Oh." She nodded, wondering if the date she was just starting to really enjoy was already over.

The waitress arrived with Lance's order of several appetizers and a round of shots. "On the house." she explained, gesturing with a nod of her head at the manager as she set them down.

"Tell Jarry, thank you from all of us." Lance said and snatched a deep fried tree lizard off the plate, dipped it into ranch dressing and took a bite.

"Um, what are those?" Caroline asked skeptically.

"Altean chicken strips. Try one!" He suggested.

"Ok! I'm not afraid to put anything in my mouth!" Caroline said and snatched a lizard off the plate carefully dipped it in the dressing and popped the whole thing in her mouth.

"'Atta' girl!" Lance said smiling, dabbing off a bit of the creamy white sauce that had gotten smeared on her chin with his thumb.

Jeanine looked from one to other and shook her head.

"Try one?" Lance asked pushing the plate toward her.

"No, thanks, I'm on a diet." Jeanine said looking askance at the little bony limbs protruding from the 'strips.'

"They're really good! Crunchy!" Caroline said reaching for another and biting off its head.

"Ouch." Lance winced and chuckled.

"You're terrible." Jeanine laughed, unable to resist Lance's roughish charm.

"What? What did I do?" He feigned innocence.

"Huh. As if." Jeanine narrowed her eyes skeptically.

"What's going on? I don't get it…" Caroline asked looking from one to the other after she finished swallowing.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you will later." Jeanine said and took a sip of her drink and looked around for Shorty. She relaxed as she saw him coming back to the table.

"Hey, buddy, everything alright?" Lance asked.

Shorty grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah." He said then noticed the girl's questioning looks. "Just had an attempted hack into the system get blocked. Nothing major." He diverted.

"Oh really?" Jeanine asked, her eyes bright with interest."Top secret, I assume?"

"Yeah, afraid so. That's all I can really say about it." He admitted.

"Hey, Jarry bought us a round." Lance interjected, changing the subject.

"Oh, cool." Shorty said and picked up his shot glass.

"What are we drinkin' to?" Lance asked. "How about—"

"How about 'to well laid plans?'" Jeanine suggested, looking pointedly at Caroline and then back at Shorty suggestively.

"I'll drink to that!" Lance said and raised his glass.

After they toasted Lance and Caroline got up to get a better view of the sunset.

"So, right before we were so rudely interrupted, we were—I was—" Shorty stammered wondering if the moment between them was lost.

"You were telling me that I was beautiful." Jeanine supplied, smiling and scooting closer to him.

"I was, wasn't I? You are…you are beautiful." It was true, even more so now that the setting sun was washing her in a red gold glow and her brown eyes glowed amber like a lioness'. He turned his body to face her more directly and sliding his arm around her waist.

"And then you were about to kiss me." She smiled, parting her lips a little.

"I was, wasn't I?" He stroked a piece of hair back that had come untucked and buried his hand in her hair. He hesitated for a moment then she cupped his cheek and drew him in and pressed her lips against his.

**Author's Note:**

The "nursery rhyme" that Duchess Sojourn hums is Aerosmith's power ballad "Kings and Queens" From their album 'Draw the Line' released 1977.

I chose a modern era heavy metal song deliberately because of a complaint I had watching SNG (Star trek Next Generation) and seeing the character Capt. Jean Luc Piccard listening to Mozart and quoting Shakespeare. SNG takes place in a 'verse set roughly five centuries in the future. I seriously couldn't believe that 18th century classical music and 16th century literature were what passed for cultured and educated taste in the 25th century. It drove me bananas.

So, in my quest to create an authentic future setting, my muse and I are ever on the look out for music, literature and art that is both popular and contemporary, that just might well carry on and be adapted and repurposed (as art often is) over many generations to be considered "classical" in the same sense that Shakespeare and Mozart are today.

(**I am aware that Shakespeare and Mozart, and other classical works featured in SNG, all have a common use copyright and can be used for free, without penalty. Perhaps that was Roddenberry's motivation, but considering he also created Wesley Crusher…I'm going with he was being pretentious.)


	10. Chapter 10

Ebon Drake: Yep, I based Moiria on an Iceland meets Antarctica model. I actually came up with it when I was drawing my map of Altea. And I couldn't stand how homogenous Altea/Arus is when I watch the shows. And it literally made no sense how all these people could just get along with each other without any ambitions of their own. So, I took the opportunity to fill up that plothole. And your comment about Lance and Pidge made me realize that I really need to update faster. LOL

Wade Wells: Thank you! I love it when Pidge gets a girl too! But in most stories he's too young. So, that's one of the reasons I made him older. There's another, but it's a secret. He's one of my favorite characters and I feel he doesn't get enough story-line. Oh, the lemon I promised you has finally arrived ;)

Petronille: Thank you very much for your kind words! It means a lot that someone as well read as you are as well as being a fabulous writer in your own right, enjoys my stories! And on that note, I'm going to bother you for an update on House of Cards.

Windup: *blushes* Awww! Shucks what can I say? Thank you so much for reading! If there's anything I can do to that would make them more enjoyable let me know!

Bknbu: Those comm units really have to go! (damn cock-blockers!) And Allura really is going to come into her own in this story and be the leader she was born to be. *Spoiler alert* With a "sexy raven haired commander" by her side. And thank you for your kind words!

Animebookchic: Thank you! You know I worry and angst about the changes I make to canon characters more than I worry about my OC's. I'm glad you're enjoying them and I hope you continue to like reading this story.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

A/N: I'm not totally happy with the first part of this chapter. I feel that there is something that just doesn't flow right with it. Any C&C would be greatly appreciated. Oh, the last half of this chapter is pure smut. You've been warned.

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 9**

**1**

She was still staring out her window when the light on the holo blinked on and a soft chime rang indicating an incoming visual. Duchess Sojourn almost swiveled around in her high-backed padded leather chair, but she stopped herself just in time, sure that it was Raible's secretary calling to reschedule. _He can wait,_ she thought angrily. _Or leave a message. _But when she didn't hear anything she did swirl around and was startled to see not only Prime Minister Raible but also the Princess of Altea seated by his side.

"Your Highness!" The Duchess exclaimed. She had barely expected Raible, that the Princess was in audience came as a complete surprise and put her a little off balance. _He probably brought her to this meeting so that I'll have to mind my manners. Well, that's fine, Crown Princess or not I'll have my answers. _"What a lovely surprise! And well worth the wait." Her last words had a slight edge and her eyes cut to Coran who met her gaze in steely silence.

Allura smiled warmly, "It is good to see you, Your Grace. It has been too long since visited Us up in the North. Your son and daughter have not been presented at court?"

"No, Your Highness, not yet. We were waiting until their father was well enough to escort them." The duchess replied.

"The Duke is not well?"

Sojourn hesitated before she spoke, wondering if she had already said too much. Taron, her husband was recovering from his fifth surgery. This time they had gone ahead and amputated what remained of his right thigh and replaced the entire leg with a cybernetic limb. The Duke was still the process of linking his neural pathways with his new prosthetic. And, proud Drule that he was, there was no way he would appear in front of the Altean court and its many visitors unless he could walk without a limp. It had been more than ten years since he had left Moiria.

Finally she said, "He has had another surgery on his leg, it's nothing. Quite routine, in fact. He is healing very well."

Allura frowned in genuine concern, "I am sorry to hear that his injury still causes him pain. Please tell your husband that he is in my thoughts and I pray for his speedy recovery."

Allura had met the Duke when she was just a child. His soldiers had rescued her from the estate where she hid with her sister. Zarkon's soldiers had ransacked the building looking for them, but their governess had hidden them well. She had put them into empty casks left in the wine cellar. They believed they were safe until the vandals set the house on fire and the floors above began to burn. No one came for them and finally her sister had recognized the danger and pulled her out of the barrel and stuffed her through a small low window. Allura scrambled to her feet and as she turned to help her sister the ceiling collapsed. She had time to see her sister's grasping hands tear away from the window casing and disappear into the fire and smoke. She heard her scream once, long and high pitched and then there was only the sound of burning. Panicked and totally alone she stood, her bare feet rooted to ground, terrified as the night seemed to close in around her, then she heard her father's voice. She turned to the sound and saw him far across the lawns beckoning her to a copse of trees. As she ran toward him he disappeared within them, but she kept running in the direction he had gone and ended up literally in the arms of her rescuers, sent by Taron Lith, Duke of Moiria.

From there they had escaped on foot, her carried, tearing through the woods for their lives and into a labyrinth of underground passages that led to an emergency bunker. The first time she saw the Duke he terrified her. It was dark, the generators had been turned off to hide energy signatures from probes that were searching over head. Only glow sticks and candles lit the small infirmary where he lay, recovering from the loss of his leg.

She remembered stifling a scream because in the low light all she could see were his eyes glowing amber in the dark and the flashing white of his teeth against his dark skin. She had never seen a black Drule before and she thought they had brought her to Zarkon. Or the Devil. In her mind they were one and the same. She had been wrong about him of course. A brave and kind man, Taron Lith had only laughed at her embarrassed apology. "Don't worry about it Your Highness, my wife did the same thing the first time she saw me. It helps to be scary-looking in my line of work. " He said and then sheltered and protected her for the long months it took for Coran and Nanny to be located amid the ruins of her world. She had not seen him in person since.

"Of course, Your Highness, he will be happy to hear it." _She sincerely means that,_ Sojourn thought. _She is her father's daughter, alright. Perhaps she is not so much Raible's creature after all. The rumors about her and Kogane may have some truth to them after all_.

Coran cleared his throat and turned to Allura. "Your Highness, you'll forgive me if I jump right into business?" Allura nodded and then he turned his attention back to the holo. "Good evening Your Grace, I apologize about the delay. Important matters of state arose. Unavoidable, I'm afraid."

"I understand, it happens." Sojourn replied smoothly. _It seems I'm not the only one who needs to mind their manners. _

"Your Grace had contacted me because she had some important matters to discuss?"

"Yes, several, in fact. The foremost of which is when are these forty thousand prisoners going to be leaving?" She drove right to the point.

Coran coughed again and swallowed uncomfortably. "We still have not heard a reply from Lotor's emissary."

Allura darted a glance at Coran. _He has rebuffed Lotor's ambassador several times already. The man waits in limbo! _

"So, you mean to tell me that they are still here indefinitely?" Sojourn asked her irritation evident in spite of being in the presence of her future queen.

"No, of course not. We have proposed a prisoner exchange. I suppose that Lotor has more important things to do at the moment than to consider their circumstances." Coran replied.

"Hmmm, indeed. Or perhaps he does consider it. He knows the longer he waits the more we'll want to be rid of them." Sojourn speculated. Lotor was many things but he wasn't stupid. Nor would he be willing to callously lose soldiers when his armies were already stretched to the limit. "But in any case it's getting expensive."

Allura shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She was well aware of the debt that the Crown owed Moiria for their lazon, over an above their tithe. She was just as aware of the debt that she personally and the Crown owed the Duke and Duchess. If it hadn't been for their loyalty and fast action Altea would have fallen. She would have been captured or killed or both if it wasn't for her husband. The man still suffered daily for it, barely able to walk on his own. The Duchess had taken on the mantle of sovereign and held the Kingdom together when it was without a king. And she then she had given it back. Back to Allura, Alfor's heir. And never asked for anything in return. Allura felt her throat constrict. _Too long Moiria has been shunned because her people are mixed. We say we want to live in peace with the Drule. But, that is not true, what we really mean is apart. Here in Moiria they have done what we have only paid lip service to. No more. I will not have a caste system on my planet. _

"Your Gra-" Coran began.

"Your Grace," Allura answered interrupting her Prime Minister. "We are aware of the debts that We owe you. You have ever been a friend to Us. Your loyalty and generosity has not gone unnoticed. Nor will they go unrewarded."

For a long moment the Duchess was silent, then she said, "Thank You, Your Highness. But I require no reward, being at the service of the daughter Alfor the Just is reward enough."

"Did Your Grace have another issue she wanted to discuss?" Coran asked a trifle smugly. Allura had deflected brilliantly! And better yet, _regally._

Too smugly and that is why Duchess Sojourn decided to continue. "Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I was wondering when you were going to tell me about the troop surge?"

"The what?" Coran asked.

"The troop surge. The Alliance is sending, oh, by my figures a little more three times the number of personnel that they normally rotate in and out. And over two thirds of them are airwing." She smiled as she watched Coran squirm. The look of surprise that flitted across Allura's face confirmed her suspicions.

"What would make you think such a thing, Your Grace? The source of your information is questionable. The Alliance is merely—"

"My source is not questionable!" The Duchess scoffed. "I received it from the Alliance itself."

"The Alliance?" Allura asked incredulously.

Sojourn's amused gaze shifted from Coran's tightly pressed lips and Allura's furrowed brow. "Be at ease, Your Highness, there is no spy. They placed a remarkably large order for lazon fuel cells. We merely did the math."

"But why would that make you think that they are coming here? Doesn't the Alliance have a contract for lazon with you already?" Coran asked, still trying to obfuscate.

"Yes, they do. But they didn't need this order delivered."

"I see." Coran replied, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. "So aside from an enormous profit margin, how does this concern you?"

"It concerns me because I need to know where you plan to put all these people. We are already have too many mouths to feed, and the summer storm season is nearly upon us. And I need to know if we're getting ready for war." The duchess explained in clipped tones.

"Your Grace, the troop surge is for our protection. The Alliance has sent them because Lotor, quite frankly, is a wild card. We have no idea at this point of what aggression, if any, we can expect from him." Allura said.

"You see—" Coran started but Allura gave him a steady look and he broke off. "Forgive me."

"I understand the burden We have already placed on you. We will find another place for these soldiers besides Moiria. It will be hard enough to feed the prisoners once the storms close the shipping lanes down."

"Thank you, Your Highness. You're understanding in this matter is much appreciated." Sojourn responded graciously, yet knew that there was no way that she could press for a payment date on the Crown's defaulted loan or for recompense for housing the prisoners now.

"Your Grace, I am happy we have these matters settled. I will have my secretary send you an update as soon as we hear something with the negotiations with Lotor. Give your husband my best wishes for a fast recovery." Coran saw a chance to end the meeting with a win-win situation and took it.

"Thank you, I will. It has been wonderful seeing you, Your Highness, Prime Minister Raible." Sojourn replied and the screen went dark.

At least she had some answers. The negotiations with Lotor were at a standstill, but for what reason she didn't know. Either he was stalling so that, as she surmised, they would be more than eager to get rid of them or Coran was stalling, perhaps to hold them hostage? In any case, the Alliance was sending half of an invasion force to Altea in preparation for war. And that opened the question of whether the enemy was coming here or was Altea finally going there? For that answer she would have to wait and see. She sighed in resignation, in any case they were going to need more of her lazon to do it. Would she ever get paid? Probably not.

**2**

"Well, that went well." Allura said brightly as they exited the conference room.

"It would seem so, except that where are we supposed to put those Alliance troops?" Coran asked.

"Coran, there is plenty of room on Rhinelind, The Summerlind and the rest will have to go to Pollux. You said yourself that it's time they started to shoulder more of the burden of this war." Allura reasoned.

Coran nodded thoughtfully. "That is a very good point. And the Duchess is going to have enough of an expense and trouble if the Queen of the Fifth Kingdom seeks asylum here."

"Here? On Altea? That's just giving Lotor a reason to attack!" Allura exclaimed.

"I know. I'm trying to avoid it. But it's not looking promising. If we want her army, or what's left of it, and the Fifth Kingdom as an ally once more, then we're going to make some concessions."

"Oh, the poor Duchess! It might be cheaper for her to house the troops!"

Coran laughed in agreement. "Perhaps. Speaking of money matters, I was very glad to delay any talk about the lazon contract. We simply don't have the funds to spare right now. Especially right now."

"Coran, the matter must be settled. It is an embarrassment to the Crown that I am in debt to my subjects. But to be honest, I was hoping to avoid it too. I had hoped that conceding on the smaller issues would placate her for a while." Allura said. _And I was hoping to make her feel as though she was part of my Kingdom, not just a cow in a field to be used for her milk and meat. _She wanted to say it but kept the thought to herself, it would only make him defensive. She needed Coran to place more trust in her judgment.

"Well played, my dear." Coran smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Of course it was! I learned from the best!" She rejoined and they walked down the hall together arm in arm.

**3**

He was waiting for her on the balcony when Allura at last returned to her apartments. She could see his shadow outlined against the billowing sheer curtains by last rays of the setting sun.

She walked out to meet him and he turned as he heard her.

"Kate let me in." Keith said smiling, a glass of Terran wine already in his hand. A bottle had been decanted; the pale gold liquid illuminated by the setting sun. Another glass sat waiting along side a tray of fruit and cheese on the coffee table.

"I figured she would." Allura answered coming to stand beside him and sliding her arm around his waist. He wrapped his arm around her in return and she nestled the top of her head into his chest. He bent and placed a kiss on her hair then rubbed his cheek across the silky strands, sighing as she snuggled closer.

"So, what did the Moirians want?" He asked, stepping away for a moment and leaning over to pour her a glass of wine. He handed it to her and slid his arm back around her shoulders.

"Mmmm," She sighed as she took a large sip of the rare vintage and leaned against his chest once more, feeling her tension ebb. "Same thing as always…all that money we owe them." She answered groaning and turning her face sideways to watch what was left the sunset. "And Duchess Lith knows something's being planned."

"Really? Already?" Keith frowned taking a drink.

She felt him stiffen. "The Alliance has requested to purchase a rather large amount of lazon from them." Allura explained. "But didn't need it delivered."

"Hmpft." Keith grunted shaking his head slightly. "That was slick. No wonder the old lady was asking questions."

"Yeah, she wanted to know where the troop surge was going to be stationed and if she was going to have to institute rationing."

"I have to hand it to her, she doesn't miss much."

"No, she doesn't. "

"I guess everything's ok with security?" Allura asked changing the subject before it could progress to talk of the proposed invasion. She brushed a stray hair that had come loose behind her ear.

"Yeah, fine, better than fine. That new wraith hunter Pidge installed is incredible. It's come back with an extra five gigs." Keith said.

"Really?" Allura pulled back a bit in surprise and looked up at him. "Has anything been decoded yet?"

"Mmn, no." Keith tilted his glass to his lips once more. "Pidge is going to start on it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? He must like this girl he met!" Allura giggled.

"That's kinda the impression I got too." Keith smiled, "You know what?"

Allura shook her head.

"I kinda like this girl _I_ met." He said.

"_Really?"_

"Uh huh, I had to travel to edge of the galaxy to find her."

"You did?" Allura asked, her eyes going wide with mock incredulity.

"And then I had to sneak through hallways and service elevators just to have a moment alone with her."

"That's terrible!"

"And now that I'm finally with her all she wants to talk about is work."

"Actually, she doesn't." Allura's eyes twinkled in mischievous amusement.

He took the glass out of her hand and set it on the balustrade beside them. The cool breeze ruffled her hair slightly, pushing some strands across her eyes. He pushed them out of her face and tilted her chin up and kissed her. Slowly, deeply and passionately. Her pliant lips parted as she kissed him back and his questing tongue sought hers. He could taste the sweet wine she had drunk and buried his hands into her thick golden hair, glad she had left it long today. Her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulder to his neck and pulled herself closer to him, pressing her body against his. He felt the familiar throb of lust in his groin and he felt himself stiffening in response to her passion.

She pulled away for a moment, sighing breathlessly, with her forehead leaning against his.

"I love you." He whispered. Ever since the first time he had uttered the words he told her every chance he got. It was part of a promise he had made to her and himself. If he ever got the chance to tell her he would never miss an opportunity again. "You are my life…my whole world." He whispered. It was true.

She gasped, tears springing to her eyes. "I love you, too. I love you, so much I—"

He cut her off with a kiss. The wispy curtains billowed around them as the day's last light faded into a red-violet glow along the horizon and the first stars sparkled to life in the sky above.

His lips pressed hers apart and she felt the roughness of his stubble as a sharp contrast to their softness. She opened her mouth and let his tongue invade her mouth once more, she caressing it with her own, teasing him and drawing him deeper. He began to withdraw it and she sucked lightly sliding her tongue along the smooth underside and then nipping his full bottom lip as he pulled away.

"We should go inside." He suggested. "Someone might see us."

She looked over her shoulder at the expanse of virgin land and forest that rolled uninterrupted until it reached the visible glow of the city lights of Leon to the west. Although only one of the massive skyscrapers was complete, the 'The Aurora Towers' as they were called, were lit and stood tall, glimmering as if they were enormous icicles rising out of the smaller skyline. The monorail, too, was lit brightly and circled the city like a planetary ring. She could see the tiny carriages arc around and disappear out of sight as the train traveled along its route.

He was right, of course. There would be hundreds of people taking holos of the castle lit up at night from the observation decks of the towers and rooftops of other buildings. All it would take is one of those images to be of a high enough resolution to make out two figures embracing on her balcony for a scandal to erupt. She slumped her shoulders in disappointment. Before the city's reconstruction they had enjoyed making love on the open terrace and lying in each other's arms as they watched the stars swirl over head.

She nodded and led the way inside to her bedroom. "Come on, then." She smiled invitingly. Sex inside was good too.

She lay back on the bed with her arms extended by her head and he moved over her. She arched her back as he kissed the side of her neck and unbuttoned her blouse. His deft hands quickly parted the fabric and he slipped his hands inside and cupped her breasts grazing her already hard nipples with his palms. _Finally!_ She sighed in pleasure at the feel of his warm calloused hands on her soft flesh and arched her back pressing into them.

He kissed her again and she felt him reach underneath her feeling for the clasp of her bra. Deftly he unfastened it and pushed it up, freeing her breasts for his hands and lips. She felt the growing warmth in her nether regions become heat as she anticipated his next move.

He caressed them first with his hands as he kissed her. Then he moved lower, nipping her chin and trailing soft kisses down her neck and collar bone until he reached the valley between her bosoms. He cupped them in his hands and pulled back a moment admiring them. Full and firm, she had surprising large breasts for such a petite woman. He brushed his thumb over one of her dusty pink areolas, circling around it watching her nipple harden further, begging for the warmth of his mouth. He gave in and sucked deeply on it while he caressed the other between his thumb and forefinger.

She moaned in pleasure, reveling the feel of his mouth and buried her hands into his hair as he moved to the other. He shifted his weight and she could feel his thigh pressed between her legs and, desire growing within her, she ground against it seeking her own pleasure. She slid one of her hands along his flat belly caressed his hardness through his pants, squeezing it and feeling it twitch under her hand. He groaned and sucked the nipple in his mouth harder in response. He released it and gazed at her passionately. She licked her lips and began to unfasten his belt.

She fumbled with it as she had in the conference room and he leaned back to help her. She sat up and quickly shrugged out of her blouse and bra. He finished unbuckling it and she pulled his shirt out of his waistband and rose to her knees and quickly undid the buttons before turning her attention back to his pants. With practiced fingers she popped the top button and unzipped his fly releasing his straining member. She wrapped her fingers around the hard, smooth shaft and stroked its length slowly. She lightly ran her thumb around the ridge of the silky smooth head. Suddenly, without warning, she bent down and took him into her mouth, sucking and swirling her tongue around the head. She felt a rush of satisfaction as he groaned in unexpected pleasure and went completely still, helpless to resist her. She sucked him deeper, moving her hand down the length, gently stroking. She heard him groan again and felt his hands in her hair, pulling it back out of her face and out of the way. She knew he liked to watch and the idea excited her further, sending a ripple of pleasure through her. She bobbed her head up and down, steadily increasing in speed and depth and swirling her tongue around the head each time she reached the tip. It had taken much practice, but she had learned what he liked. After a few moments she felt his hands tighten on her scalp and tasted salty-sweet drops of pre-cum.

"Okay, okay, stop…stop! I'm getting too close." He pleaded breathlessly and stilled her head in his hands.

She released him and looked up at him, smiling wickedly. "I could tell. I've been thinking about doing that all day… All week."

He said nothing, but she could see the passion blazing in his eyes as he rid himself of his clothes and pushed her back on the bed and stripped her of her own garments.

He covered her body with his own and kissed her again. She delighted to feel his bare flesh slide against her own and she ran her hands along the hard muscular planes of his back and down the deep furrow of muscles bordering his spine to the curve of his round, muscular buttocks. She loved the feel of him, so firm, so strong, and so different from herself. Yet, his skin was so smooth, soft like warm satin; a strange contrast to the rock hard muscles rippling underneath her fingers.

She felt his hands begin to roam. Fondling her beasts again, then sliding lower, along her rib cage to her waist, then over to her belly and lower still. She cried out when his eager fingers sought and found her sensitive flesh and slid easily into the folds of her warm wet pussy. Gently he stroked her clit and a white hot heat pulsed through her. She spread her legs to give him more access, moaning softly into his mouth as he pleasured her. He caressed her until he could feel tremble under his touch.

"Do you know what I've been thinking about all week?" He asked and slid his body down her length, kissing her as he went. He removed his fingers from her and she cried out in dismay. But only for a moment. He placed a kiss on her navel and moved lower kissing her Mons gently before flicking his tongue lightly along the glistening pink flesh peeking from between her pussy lips. She spread her legs wider, giving him access to her most intimate place. She shivered with desire as she felt his warm breath tickle her inner thigh as he placed a light kiss on a beauty mark hidden high on the inside. His soft lips grazed her pussy once more, his tongue flicking out and tracing lightly along the hint of pink, teasing her purposely, as he moved to the other inner thigh and gently kissed her. She squirmed as his warm moist breath tickled her sensitive flesh.

She thought she would go crazy if he didn't stop teasing her. She reached down and tried to take hold of his head but he grabbed her wrists and held them gently but firmly to her sides.

"Patience." He admonished.

"Keith, please! You're torturing me!" She cried out in frustration.

He laughed, "I know. But good things come to those who wait." He teased, smiling as her fingers griped his palms tighter.

They had had such little time alone together this week he didn't want to rush things. He wanted to take his time; the way he longed to do earlier in the conference room but couldn't. He grazed his lips her pussy once more, marveling at how soft she was and inhaling her clean feminine scent. He heard her sob and she thrust her hips forward in an effort to get closer. Finally his own resolve faltered and he pressed his mouth against her soft flesh and probed his tongue into her, savoring the slippery silk texture of her soft pink skin and the unique, intoxicating taste that was Allura.

She cried out loudly as he caressed her with his mouth, his skillful tongue circling her sensitive peak with a gentle but firm pressure. She writhed, pressing herself against him and he let go of her hands and grabbed her hips to keep her still. He felt her fingers wind through his hair again and her breaths came faster. A moment later she arched her back and cried out his name as she came. He continued to caress her lightly until her trembling stopped.

He lifted his head and rose above her. Looking down he saw her beautiful face suffused with pleasure and her blue eyes were bright with desire. He leaned over and kissed her and she kissed him back tasting herself on his lips. Still kissing her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her further onto her bed and settled between her thighs. He felt her fingers trail down his torso and find his hard throbbing flesh. She wrapped her fingers around him and guided him to her opening.

"Are you-" He asked.

"Yes! Now!" She demanded breathlessly.

He eagerly obliged and entered her with a groan. He waited a moment savoring the feel of her liquid warmth surrounding him and then began moving in slow steady thrusts, wanting to make it last and draw out their pleasure.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and she moaned wantonly and encouraged him to go deeper and harder. Only too happy to oblige he increased the pace and strength of his thrusts.

She dug her fingers into him, delighting in the feel of his hardness both inside and outside of her. She could feel his muscles move under fingers as he reached exquisitely deep places within her. She loved the feel of him as he moved inside of her. Only in this way, when she was her most yielding and pliant could she could embrace his masculinity and share his energy-the physical _strength_ of him. She moaned as the pleasure built within her.

He felt her tighten around him and knew she was close, he wanted it to last, to prolong their pleasure, but the night was young and he had no intention of leaving anytime soon. He shifted slightly, lifting himself off of her and sliding her knees over his shoulders.

She cried out in both surprise and delight as the angle of his thrust changed and he was able to go deeper than before. She gazed up at him, his eyes were dark with passion and a light sheen of sweat beaded his brow. The muscles of his chest were taut with his effort and she reached out her hand and caressed him, trailing her fingers down his rippling abs to feel where he was joined together with her as one. Her fingers circled him, feeling him slide in and out of her and a wicked hedonism overwhelmed her senses drawing her closer to ecstasy. She felt him harden under her hand and knew he was as close to coming as she was.

He leaned over to kiss her, fiercely thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth. He pulled her hand away and pushed her knees back until they were pressed against her shoulders and lost what restraint he had left. His thrusts were deep and hard and she welcomed them with abandon as she finally crossed the threshold, gasping his name as she reached orgasm. He cried out his own pleasure a moment later and she felt him pulse as he spilled his seed in her. They lay that way for a long moment catching their breath. She slid one leg off of his shoulder and draped it lazily around his hips

He kissed her again, gently this time, and whispered, "I love you."

She kissed him back, "I love you, too." She smiled and wiggled the toes of the foot still looped over his shoulder. "But, sweetheart… I really need you to move, my leg is falling asleep."


	11. Chapter 11

Cubbie and Chris: Not a problem. Thank you for braving my 'grim-dark' world. You might also want to check out chapter 6 (on the drop down menu) part 1. In spite of this being a war story, Keith and Allura's love for each other is actually a central theme. It's the constant bright spot that chases the dark away; Eleanor Roosevelt's 'single candle,' if you will.

Petronille: I was hoping to show Allura is no longer an insecure girl trying to prove herself. That her years defending her own planet and also learning statesmanship at Coran's knee have molded her into a woman capable of governing her Kingdom. And yeah, Coran still needs to see that. Never fear, he will. And I can't tell you happy I am that what I was doing with the use of enthusiastic consent came through. I feel that Keith is the kind of man who would be extra careful with Allura because of her past trauma. And that he would put her first- ahead of all his own needs- in all things. Loved your last two chapters of House of Cards, btw. Political intrigue at its best!

Wade Wells: LOL! I don't blame you for heading straight for the fluff! Thank you for your kind words! I have to admit I did hesitate about the severity of Taron's injuries…but my muse wouldn't relent. War is hell. Do look for more of him, he quickly became one of my favorite OC's. And I totally agree on making sure that science and technology reflect the future setting of the Voltron universe. Medical science can perform what looks to be miracles now, and prototypes of some of the stuff the bio-tech reps have shown me is just amazing. It's a real challenge to come up with technology that is futuristic, based on actual research, but not completely outlandish.

Windup: LOL no! Not weird at all! I myself find what goes on behind the closed doors of political offices just as sexy as the bedroom!

Feli3: Glad you're enjoying it! Feel free to offer any comments or critiques!

Bknbu: LOL sorry…need to put a NSFW at the start of 'those' chapters. But I'm glad you enjoyed it and didn't end up in HR. I think it's beyond time for "Princess" Allura to step up her game and assume her rightful place as…oops, don't want to get too far ahead of myself. And the Fifth Kingdom entering into the mix with their own blood debt to pay? What could possibly go wrong?

KathDMD: LOL! Hey, I do what I can…And you're very welcome! Hard working woman like you deserves a great weekend! And a dirty mind is a terrible thing to keep to ones self. There's a lot more 'citrus' ahead…but only because it's important to the plot. No, really, it is! ;) And I'm experimenting with a new drink recipe. And by experimenting I mean drinking as I write this. As follows: Red Diamond Brand Sweet Tea in a rocks glass over ice, 1.5 oz Tito's vodka, fresh mint. Need to think of something to call it…besides delicious

Ebon Drake: Thank you for your review and your suburb copy editing skills! I'm glad you're enjoying my interpretation of the characters, especially Allura. She can be surprisingly hard to write. Particularly when one is trying to write her as a more 'modern' proactive heroine without losing the vulnerability that is so fundamental to her character. And I'm glad you liked the "smutty-smut" And thanks again for the kind words and your confidence in my ability to write this story.

_A/N: A few words on characterization and continuity. Romelle's physical description is based on her brief appearance in the Devil Due Comic series where she is drawn with red hair and green eyes. I found this depiction of her more believable and consistent with the coloring of the rest of her family (both Avok and Bandor are redheaded) than the blonde haired "Allura Twin" version in GoLion and Lion Voltron. _

_As for continuity, this story is told through the eyes of multiple characters, and so does not follow a strictly linear sequence of events. There will be many places where the storyline overlaps or even doubles back on itself as different characters add their voice to the tale, filling the gaps of information left by others. It is certainly a more difficult and less traveled route, but one I feel will make all the difference in the end. (Yes, I just ripped off Robert Frost, but really, who hasn't?) _

_Also, for those of you who have asked me about providing more back story for some of my OC's such as Martinez, Naro Yoi and Lt. Amanda Lorn, be patient, I'll get there. But if you need to know right now, Yoi's and Lorn's can be found in much greater detail in my story 'Rites of Passage' which serves as a sort of prequel for this story. Martinez's 'big reveal' is coming up very soon. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**Razor's Edge **

**Chapter 10**

**1**

With a stealth learned in the caverns of the Pit of Skulls Romelle crouched in the secret passage and peered through a deliberate thin spot in the veneer of the paneling in Bandor's office and listened to her brother's not so secret conference with Coran, Keith and Allura, her nails digging half-moons in to her palms from the effort it took to keep silent. Sven had told her about it, and why Bandor had chosen to exclude her. He kept nothing from her.

He knew she still held secrets from those dark days before they met. He never pried or insisted she share them with him. He understood and respected her need to keep some parts of her past her own. Perhaps he knew that some secrets are best kept in the shadows; that some won't die in redemption's light, but would instead coil around each of them in a stranglehold; pulling them apart forever. She felt a deep stab of guilt at the knowledge. Sven could be blunt to the point of brutality, but he would never hurt her with a lie. Just as she could never destroy him with the truth.

_They are waiting! Waiting too long! _She thought and experienced a lurching in her gut; a sensation similar to the rapid descent in an elevator or the sudden thrust of rockets breaching gravity. It was a feeling she had learned to trust long ago; a warning. She understood the need for more troops, but if they gave Lotor the time to regroup and re-arm there would be no way they could defeat him! They might even lose Tabor's help. _Tabor…Tabor, the weakest and most undependable spoke in the wheel. Already once a traitor… _Her throat constricted as she sensed the window closing on her family's only opportunity for revenge and swallowed a hard, bitter lump in her throat. _We all have one fleeting chance to keep our sovereignty and if we don't take it Lotor will settle his business with the Fifth and come back even stronger than before._

She heard the conversation suddenly end and she bit her lip, the sinking feeling in her stomach twisted into a knot. _Damn it! If any bit of this conversation gets back to Lotor, it's all over now. _

"Well, Your Majesty, should we get the bomb shelters ready?" She heard Sven ask Bandor with his typical gallows humor.

"Hmpft!" Bandor snorted in reply, "Maybe, just to be on the safe side. Check with security, find out what that was. If it was on our side or theirs." She heard the dismissal in Bandor's voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sven replied. She didn't wait to see him leave. She crept back quietly along the narrow passage; ducked to avoid a low beam and made her way carefully back to the main corridor which led back to her apartments. The family wing of the castle was riddled with servant's entrances, secret passages, hidden doors and spy holes. This one in particular had been installed by her grandfather so his mistress could visit him discreetly. Surely Bandor knew of it; she had on occasion seen other footprints in the dust leading both in and out of it. She mused for a moment on which of the ladies remaining at Pollux's court might be her brother's paramour; then dismissed the thought with a frown. It only reminded her how crestfallen they had become. A secondary power compared to Altea.

The panel slipped noiselessly into a pocket door concealed behind an ornamental screen and she stepped into the empty hallway, closed it and walked purposefully towards her rooms.

_What if this conference between Altea and Pollux was intercepted by Korrinoth and it is being decoded right now? What then? _She wondered pacing the expanse of her sitting room. She walked over to the buffet and poured herself three fingers of aged bourbon neat into a cut crystal glass. She took a deep swallow savoring the bitter finish. She found sweet beverages like wine and _saya_ cloying now, and somewhat dishonest in their purpose. She didn't drink alcohol because she liked the taste. No one did.

Glass in hand she sat down on the edge of the sofa and leaned back against the cushions_. Surely, it would go badly for Tabor. He would be tortured, certainly giving up that he had been meeting me directly and then Lotor would come with his armies and decimate my world and finish killing everyone I love. Will Voltron come to our aid and leave Altea undefended with Lotor's war-machine running at full power? Or will we be another Balto, with our treaties abandoned in the face of mutually assured destruction? It all depends on Lotor, what he knows and what he now plans. _

In her heart she knew what he planned. They all did. He was going to come for Allura; that's what all this was about. His obsession with her was no secret. Three armies were gathering to defend her honor. Romelle grit her teeth as she felt resentment overwhelm her. _Nobody defended me, no one came. I had to find my own way to survive. _She thought angrily then quickly corrected herself. _No, that's not true. Sven did. He saved me and protected me. I would have died without him. And I never would have gotten a chance to take my revenge against that bastard! _She squeezed her eyes shut. _Lotor…somehow it always comes back to him. I wish I'd never seen him! Or been so foolish to believe his lies. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for that…_

In hindsight her family's fall from grace was painfully obvious. One could recall the events and see it unfold step by step. Her father and brother had been so blinded by their own ambitions and arrogance they didn't think question why such a powerful King like Zarkon would need their help for anything. They never considered why Zarkon would arrange a match between his son and a human girl for a mere alliance. An alliance he knew could have gotten easily without it.

If her father had bothered to think of anything other than his own ambition he never would have packed her off to Korrinoth and let Avok parade her in front of Lotor like a mare up for auction. She and her dignity would have stayed on Pollux and if Lotor wanted to meet her he would have had to come there. As he would have asked to, had Zarkon's offer even been even remotely serious. She knew now that was how the Drule did things. They were protective of their daughters, keeping a close watch on them. Not because they feared their wayward nature would get them into trouble, but rather because they valued them so highly. Bride stealing had been a common practice in their recent past, and a family that could not or did not protect its women was not highly regarded. And as a consequence neither were easily gotten women.

Romelle herself had known no better; her own conceit had been her downfall as well. All she had seen was the wealth, power and decadence of the Ninth Kingdom. Aside from what hairstyles and clothing were fashionable, she didn't bother to learn anything about the Drule or Korronite culture. She was so certain that the adoration she received on Pollux would be mimicked on Korrinoth. And sure that Lotor would be as entranced by her beauty as everyone else was. What a fool she had been!

But her ignorance was not entirely her fault. She had never had to think about what troubles lay ahead, or what would she do with her life. It had all been arranged for her. Any difficulties were settled by others, most without her knowing they had even occurred. Usually her most pressing concern had been to decide what to wear to what event. Even on Korrinoth, everything had seemed to fall into place. At first anyway. She realized now that was a charade. Had she taken a moment and thought, just thought about something more important than what jewels matched which dress better, then she would have seen it. In fact she had seen it; she just hadn't known what she was looking at.

Lotor hadn't wanted her. Not as his wife, anyway. He wanted Allura and it had been only her resemblance to the Altean princess that had captured his interest, however fleeting. And Zarkon had much bigger plans for his only son than the simpering human princess of an emerging Kingdom. In retrospect, that much was as plain as the points of their ears. She had arrived on Korrinoth seeing nothing but the fabulous wealth and power that she would have access to as queen. She had been bewitched by it all, certain that the magnificence of the Ninth Kingdom had been what she spurned all the others for. Finally, she was getting what she deserved.

Avok had come to Korrinoth first. It was from him she learned of the court, the hedonism and the dresses the women wore that revealed as much as they concealed. He spoke in hushed tones of the pleasure slaves,_ Ai'loethi, _they were called. More than simple prostitutes or dancing girls they were more like the geisha of Terra, he had said. She had no idea what a geisha was, but the word _sounded_ scandalous. The whole thing had seemed like some decadent scene out of a holo-film or a very naughty fairy tail. She had grown up believing in fairy tails.

And then there had been Lotor. She had wanted him before she even met him because he came with all of Korrinoth. Idiot that she had been, she had known nothing of the Sinclines or their bloody claim to the throne.

She rubbed her forehead with one hand, as if she could wipe the memories out of her mind. She had had years to recount every misstep of every member of her family including herself. She had come to the conclusion that what had happened was inevitable. But how it happened? No, there was much that she at least could have done differently.

Lotor had not been on Korrinoth when she was presented at court. He had been on _Diqan,_ the moon base orbiting Korrinoth, overseeing the construction of a new fleet of super dreadnaughts. It was a slight that should have been their first clue that something was amiss. However, Avok and her father had accepted Zarkon's dismissive explanation, and she had remained on Korrinoth to await Lotor's return…at his leisure.

The first time she had ever spoken to Lotor directly was several weeks later at the arena. He had just been defeated by Avok. She remembered her brother offering to help him up but Lotor had waved his hand aside and flipped nimbly to his feet. His next actions took the entire crowd by surprise and herself most of all. He had taken a knee before her box and said "I have lost the heart to fight because the lovely Romelle has stolen it! Will you please give it back?" She replied "Never!" The crowd roared its approval. She felt like she was floating on a cloud! What a silly fool she had been! She had really believed he meant the words, that he was truly beguiled by her! No, no…in reality it hadn't been that way at all, quite the opposite in fact. He had seduced her completely, right then and there, in front of everyone, with a few pretty words.

She had mistakenly believed that he would be just like all her other suitors. So sure of his affection, so wanting to believe it was all coming true, she hadn't thought to question it. But, she wasn't totally to blame. None of them had. Securing her betrothal to obtain Zarkon's aid in defeating Altea, their common enemy, had been central to the ambitions of her father and brother. They should have been more skeptical, in spite of Zarkon's promises. After all, Zarkon had sworn a blood oath to his own king, Vosta, but it hadn't stopped him from taking the crown right off of Vosta's severed head. But Avok and Cova in their own arrogance and lust for power had been just as beguiled as she was.

Once her father had returned to Pollux, Avok turned a blind eye to her comings and goings and allowed her far too much time alone with Lotor. "Lotor is not like other noblemen. He is _Dai'ahksu._ With him the throne of Korrinoth is just the beginning of our family's fortunes. Keep him amused and happy, sister, and he will lay the Denubian in our laps." He advised, assuming she understood what _Dai'ahksu_ meant. She didn't. Not really. How could she know all the subtleties and implied meanings of such a word? There was no exact translation for it in the common tongue. _Dai'ahksu._ She had assumed the term meant some kind of military leader or conqueror. And she was partially correct. But it meant so much more. Lord of War was what she had been told when she remembered to ask one of her Korronite servants. But really -more specifically- Lord _by_ War. What a difference a simple preposition makes! Lotor had earned the title during his service in the Supremacy. He had conquered worlds on his own and held the incomes from them. He had shown uncommon bravery and ingenuity in battle and overcome insurmountable odds. He did not have to kneel before the throne of any king aside from the one his father occupied, but that was only because Zarkon was his father and Dai'ahksu as well. Less than a thousand in all ten Kingdoms had held the envied rank, a social status that could not be inherited, but only earned through bloody conquest and valor. But no one had explained that to her. Warlord, she had thought. Some sort of general or commander. But not the lofty rank of someone who had earned the right to establish by force their own recognized Kingdom in the Supremacy. How foolish she had been to think that she was regarded as Lotor's equal.

Avok also must have known that hers and Lotor's relationship had gone too far too fast. There was no way he could not have; only that he had been too concerned with his own aspirations to care. Her ladies in waiting, two cousins from Pollux-the painfully shy, freckled, auburn haired Marian and plain, fat Louise, were too intimidated of her and the Korronite court to advise or admonish.

But it wasn't Avok's fault. Or her hapless cousins, may God rest all their souls. It was hers. In this, she had known better. She had been raised to guard her virginity as if her life and planet depended on it. She was a princess, and not like other women to be had by common men and live common lives. No, she was a Royal Highness! And someday to be a Royal Majesty! She could not give herself away for something as banal as love. No, she was not allowed to give herself away at all. Royal duty decreed that she obtain a legal contract and a public ceremony in order to do that. But her duty hadn't stopped her from falling in love on Pollux; nor did it stop her from falling for Lotor's insidious charm on Korrinoth. Yet it had been that same duty which had led her to falter as she did. Was it ironic? Perhaps…

Unable to stop herself she continued to tally her mistakes. Not the little embarrassing ones that had made her toss and turn, unable to sleep during her 'courtship' on Korrinoth. No, the big ones, the ones that signaled the danger she ignored. But even those had their silver linings, for it was then that she had experienced for the first time the same uneasy churning in her gut that she had right now. She knew to recognize it as a warning. That something was terribly wrong and she needed to be still look and listen for the answer because she already had all the clues. She just needed to know how they fit together, just like the first time she felt it, years ago, in Lotor's harem…

Lotor had made plans to see her when he returned from some military business with her brother. She had been waiting anxiously all day, spending the afternoon trying on clothes and putting together accessories. She had wanted to look radiant for him. And then he had sent her a message, he would be late returning. But he hadn't specified a time, so she ended up dining with her brother, Bandor. Then, during dinner, his valet sent another message saying he wouldn't be coming. No apology. No explanation. Simply stating that: _'His Imperial Highness will not be returning to Castle Galra this evening.'_ As if she should have been grateful for that tiny bit of courtesy!

"How rude! First, Lotor says he has been delayed and now says he isn't coming to see me!" She exclaimed to Bandor. Her brother, in his naiveté, blurted out the uncomfortable truth. Avok and Lotor had returned late in the morning and had spent the afternoon gambling at the arena and now they were dining at his private residence.

She had been enraged! How dare _he_?! How dare he lie to her?! She stormed out on Bandor, ignoring his protests and leaving him to finish his dessert alone. She called for her maids to prepare the gown she had selected for this evening and to style her hair. She had to look fabulous. She was going to Lotor's dinner party, invitation or not!

She arrived at the residence without incident and greeted with all appropriate deference by Lotor's personal valet. He escorted her past the oddly empty dining room and back into the more intimate living area of the large home. She had never been to this part of his house. He heart began to hammer in her chest and her stomach tightened, and she felt as if she were falling. She got the urge, just for a moment to turn around and leave. But she ignored it, telling herself that she had every right to be here.

They arrived at a pair of double doors made of _onat_ wood, sanded smooth, stained a dark brown and heavily varnished. The valet seemed to sense her disquiet because he hesitated and regarded her for a moment. She nearly changed her mind, but then she heard the sound of laughter from within. She gestured with her head at the door, noticing as she did so, the tiny bones and feathers of a small, hapless bird that had been absorbed by the tree to become part of it structure. Its empty eye sockets seemed to plead to her a warning. Her stomach coiled another knot, but she ignored it. She squared her shoulders and prepared to make her grand entrance.

The valet pushed the doors open and bowed as she walked past him into the gorgeously appointed room. For a moment she felt triumphant! She noted it was a small and intimate party, as she saw only a half a dozen guests sitting on a large circular couch in front of a fire pit. She couldn't discern who they were because only the tops of their heads were visible. But she could spot her betrothed immediately by the bright white of his hair, Avok's auburn curls were to his left and at least three other Drule and humans were present.

No one had noticed her yet, and she approached the group wordlessly. Several servants stood around with decanters of _saya_ and trays of sliced fruit and raw meat were placed on the lip of the pit. She smelled sweet spices and meat cooking and noticed a large pink block of salt sitting on a grate in the fire glowing with several thin slices of Terran horse meat sizzling on it. As she got closer she noticed that one of the Drule was one of Lotor's generals, Cossak, and seated next to him was a Drule female she had believed was his wife. She knew now it was his favored concubine. Her brother had a dark haired beauty of a Drule curled halfway in his lap. But it was when she saw Lotor that her heart dropped to her feet. She knew, right then, she had made a serious error.

Had she not imposed herself on this night, she was sure the events that followed never would have happened.

She barely looked at Lotor; her eyes flitted over him and fixed on the woman the woman beside him, sitting within the circle of his arm. She smiled and parted her lips revealing perfect white teeth as he placed a morsel of food in her mouth. She was human and breathtakingly beautiful. And worse -much worse! She favored Allura; with golden blonde hair and wide set crystal blue eyes. Except that was where the resemblance ended; this woman was not the 'little bumpkin' her cousin was. She was elegantly dressed in a bare shouldered turquoise blue silk dress and wearing a jeweled choker necklace and earring set that shimmered with blue diamonds the size of bird's eggs surrounded by bezel set mosinite and dripping with teardrop pearls the size of her thumbnail. They made the finest jewels in Romelle's collection seem like dime store baubles.

Never in Romelle's life had she ever not been the prettiest woman in the room, or at least convinced that she was. It was a devastating jolt to her ego. Who was this woman who sat so familiarly with her betrothed? Who was she that he would break his word to Romelle to be with her instead?

Avok had been the first to see her standing there.

"Romelle!" He exclaimed, and then every head snapped in her direction.

"Romelle! What an unexpected pleasure! How...nice of you to join us." Lotor said smoothly as Avok and Cossak stood to acknowledge her presence. The three women, however, sunk into the prostrations of slaves. Romelle couldn't help but notice the lithe figure of the blonde and the way the high slits of her gown revealed her long and shapely legs. _She moves like a piece of silk_, she thought as the statuesque woman gracefully lowered herself and touched her forehead to ground. She felt dowdy and clumsy by comparison.

But, as she looked at the women, now obviously slaves, and then around at the room's opulent, yet casually masculine décor; she suddenly realized where she was and her cheeks grew hot. She had barged into Lotor's harem.

She still hadn't known much about the Drule, but even then she knew that this was a place where, according to their culture, she should not be unless invited. By her _husband_. It had been as rude as if Lotor had barged into her shower, while she was using it. She could feel the heat radiate off her face.

Avok had been first to move. He had come up to her smiling but she saw it didn't reach his eyes. He took her arm and under his breath, he whispered "What are you doing here?!"

Seeing his anger, she knew she had made a terrible mistake, embarrassing all of them. "Bandor told me you were here." It hadn't been a lie, but she could not admit the truth. Not to him not to anyone, that she had come chasing a man who didn't want to see her!

"Damn it! I'm going to kill him." He said through clenched teeth, still maintaining his false smile as he escorted her to the couch; she noticed that the women were no longer present.

Lotor finally stood and took her hand. She sat down beside him.

"Did you not get my message?"He asked. She saw the tension in his jaw.

"What message?" She said and turned her gaze to the fire-pit so he couldn't see the lie in her eyes.

A servant offered her a glass on a tray and she took it and drank deeply. She was learning to enjoy alcohol and its effects. She turned back to Lotor and noticed he was smiling again.

"This is good." She said, "Different." She took another sip.

"I'm glad you like it. Drink up. You're just in time. I was about to have Lolita sing for us." He lightly touched his glass to hers, and exchanged a glance with Cossak. She thought she detected a hint of amusement in it and wondered if perhaps things weren't as bad as she feared.

Oh, how wrong she had been.

When the singer had arrived Romelle's heart sank. The singer, Lolita, and the beautiful blonde slave were one and the same. To make matters worse she had accompanied herself by playing the complicated seventeen stringed, lute-like _vasst_. If she had been unprepared for seeing the beauty of the women Lotor was accustomed to, she certainly had not expected them to have been talented as well. The woman sang like bird! Pitch perfect and hauntingly beautiful melodies, hitting soprano notes so high and clear Romelle had thought the glass in her hand would shatter. Oh, she had learned many things that night, including what_ Ai'loethi _meant.

Avok had escorted her home immediately after the performance. It had been a quiet ride across the channel. "You'd better fix this," was all her older brother had said and pointedly ignored her attempts at conversation. She had gazed out the window into the dead black night and blinked back tears, certain that Lotor was in the arms of the singer. Jealousy had overwhelmed her. Never once, in all her life, had she ever had reason to doubt herself, but now she did. She measured herself against both the singer, Lolita, and her cousin Allura and found herself lacking. In all areas but one. She was royalty, a princess who came with a powerful alliance. Lolita -beautiful and talented to be sure- was nothing but chattel and Allura had nothing but a title. She made a vow then, that she would replace them both. Lotor may have had many women, but he had never, ever had a woman of such high birth as herself. She was worth ten of both of them, she decided.

It was the beginning of the end. Her decision to compete with Lotor's whore and his idealized fantasy of Allura had been sheer stupidity. After the harem incident, Lotor had been cool and standoffish for several weeks. The flowers he had delivered daily to her rooms had ceased. She had agonized and berated herself for her foolishness that night, going over each thing she should have done differently until she had thought she would lose her mind. Until finally, one afternoon she received a message from him. It merely stated that he would like to speak to her after dinner in the water gardens. She had almost burst into tears, certain that he was breaking the engagement.

She had agonized what she should wear for hours, vacillating between modest and revealing, dark or light, simple or ornate. Finally -her ladies being no help what-so-ever- she asked her Korronite maid what she would wear if the Prince Imperial wanted to meet her in the water gardens at night. The servant paused for a moment then said, "Nothing. Nothing at all." Romelle gasped at the girl's audacity, but the scandalous suggestion made up her mind. She pawed through her dresses and finally pulled out a sky blue gown with a ruffled neckline. She turned it about and then ordered the maid to call for a seamstress. "I need this dress altered immediately."

She changed after dinner and shy Marion tried to talk her out of wearing the altered dress, but she would hear none of it. Now one shouldered, the frilly ruffle had been removed and replaced by grass green and violet beading with gold embroidery along the bodice that outlined the curve of her breasts. The voluminous skirt had been tailored so that the pale blue silk clung to her willowy curves as she moved. It was the height of Korronite fashion. She chose her mother's diamond and tsavorite earrings and a green samite shawl that matched the emerald of her diadem and her eyes. Avok had said she had to 'fix this.' And that was exactly what she planned to do.

Her heart had been pounding as she strolled down the mosaic path which wound through hedge rows agleam with bioluminescent flora, illuminated fountains which fed landscaped streams and waterfalls. She found him waiting where he said he'd be, at the shrine of _Li'Noth_ by a large _yera_ tree, the glowing petals of its tiny flowers created curtains of light on its long drooping branches. His back was to her and she paused, nearly not recognizing him out of his formal court attire. He was wearing a dark blue sleeveless tunic embroidered in silver and in trimmed in the blood red of House Sincline. His long hair white hair was loose in the breeze and a gold and ruby medallion belt was slung low on his narrow hips and she was struck dumb for a moment by his broad shouldered silhouette. She was afraid to move; unsure of what the next moments would bring when suddenly he turned and she gasped in surprise. She quickly looked down, unable to meet his yellow eyes.

"My Lord—I- it's-"She began haltingly but he quickly closed the distance between them. He grabbed her by her bare arms pulled her close and kissed her! Hard and passionately! She had been so stunned she didn't know what to do! She pushed at his chest and after a moment he released her.

"Forgive me. I am a beast." He said. "But I have missed you, Romelle."

She should have slapped him, like Allura had done so many times before. She should have run away or cursed at him. Or cried. She should have done anything except what she did next.

"There's nothing to forgive. If anyone has behaved badly it's me." She apologized. "I should have never—" She continued but he shushed her with a finger to her lips.

"My lovely Romelle, I should have invited you. You are always welcome to join me in my _ai'doann,_" he said and smiled. She could still remember how white his pointed teeth gleamed in the eerie, ethereal light.

He pulled her under the branches and kissed her again and this time she let him. His hands had roamed her silken curves and she made no effort to stop him. _Fix this_, Avok had said. Had warned. Had commanded. And that's what she was trying to do, and God help her she liked doing it. She didn't put a stop to Lotor's seduction until he had tried to lay her down in the grass right there under the tree. At least she had had some sense left that night.

He had broke off from her abruptly then; so quickly she was forced to grab one of the branches in order not fall backward. He turned and left without a word and her heart sank once more. If she could have found her voice she was sure she would have called out to him. Thank God for small favors! She made her way back to her rooms slowly; her hands shaking and desperately trying not to weep. She wasn't sure exactly what had caused him to leave as he did and what it could possibly mean for their future…for _her_ future. Romelle knew that he had most likely gone to his harem to do with that Lolita-_thing_ what she had denied him. The very idea of it left her tortured with self doubt and jealousy. She berated herself for her prudishness which sent him into the arms of other women. _Fix this…Keep him amused…_her brother's words echoed in her mind later as she tossed and turned in her bed. How was she supposed to do these things when her betrothed was surrounded by other women? Each one as beautiful as she and none with any chastity to speak of?

The morning, however, had brought her a most lovely surprise. A large arraignment of fragrant flowers and a blood red lacquered gift box with the Sincline coat of arms carved and embossed in gold and black. She gasped and nearly dropped it when she opened the lid. Inside was a stunning jeweled triple strand choker necklace of ascher cut emeralds and diamonds set in bright yellow gold. Large baroque pearls dangled off the flower shaped spacer links of each setting. Marian and Louise had gaped at it with her, their eyes the size saucers. Inside there had been a handwritten note on velum, _"So that all may know my esteem of you,"_ it read and was signed with only his surname _'Sincline.'_

Even her maid had been surprised. "Is this from His Majesty or His Imperial Highness?" she had asked when Romelle had asked her to fasten the necklace around her throat. The question had seemed unusual to Romelle, but in her excitement she didn't think to ask why the girl thought Zarkon would send her such a gift. "His Imperial Highness." She had answered smiling and preening in the mirror admiring the way the green stones brought out her eyes and contrasted with her flaming hair.

Romelle had barely noticed the servant's smile or the sly look in her eye. No, it would be a while before Romelle learned that according to Drule culture a suitor gifts his intended a bracelet to signify an impending betrothal. She learned too late -much too late- that only concubines wear such close fitting collars. Lotor's 'gift' had been only the first of the many humiliations he had planned for her and her family.

With a final tilt to the glass Romelle drained it and pushed herself to an upright position. Her hand fluttered to her throat and toyed with the large oval pendant there. Bezel set with round diamonds and laser cut in gold over lapis lazuli were two dolphins leaping a cresting wave; the Polluxian coat of arms. It was the last of her mother's jewels, the rest had been stolen or sold to fund her escape from Korrinoth and later her insurgency. _Mother, I miss you so much…Father, you tried so hard. You did the best you knew…I will make this right for us, I promise! _She gripped the pendant tighter. _Whatever it takes; whatever I have to do... I will make him pay. _

_**Glossary:**_

_**Ai'loethi: **__(noun) Lit. Trans. The Pleasing Ones. The formal name for a pleasure servant. Unlike simple prostitutes ai'loethi are selected for their uncommon beauty and educated and trained in the arts of music, dance, conversation and sexual pleasure. They are extraordinarily expensive to buy and maintain and often stay with one master for life. _

_**ai'doann:**__ (noun) in Drule the private space of a residence reserved for the males of upper class households so they may relax the more formal manners kept in mixed company. It is considered an act of disrespect for anyone to enter uninvited, but it's especially rude and invasive for a female to enter without being expressly invited and escorted. _

_**Dai' Ahkhsu**__: (noun) literal translation: Noble war person. Its meaning is similar to 'War master' or 'Warlord' in Terran, but it is an elite ruling class among the Drule. It is most notable because it is the only social class that a person can not be born into._

_**Li' Noth:**__ God of war and conquest. _

_**Onat:**_ _(noun) a type of carnivorous tree native to Tyrus. Its branches grow with natural hollows which encourage birds, insects and small animals to crawl in and use then as nests. The trees then secrete a sap which paralyzes the prey and begins to digest it in two phases. The soft tissue of the animal are absorbed quickly leaving the bones to become part of the tree as it grows around them, continuing to slowly leech the nutrients and minerals out of them. The wood is prized for woodworking especially those pieces with entire skeletons clearly identifiable. _


	12. Chapter 12

Wade Wells: Muchas Gracias, Chica! I am truly humbled by your praise. I'm very glad you enjoyed it and that I was able to convey Romelle's anger and grief for what is was and explain some of her 'bitchiness' in earlier chapters. All I can say is that I hope that my future chapters don't disappoint! Btw, this one might look a little familiar…

Windup: I'm so glad my characterization of Romelle worked for you. It's always nerve wracking when one deviated from the accepted canon characterization. I'm also partial to Flawed!Romelle. She's got some "stronger in the broken places" parts coming. And thank you for your praise! I LOVED Voltron as a child and as I grew older I saw that it had all the elements of an epic space opera and enough plot holes for me to get creative with it. And do I write for a living? Not yet…but guilty as charged! I'm using fanfiction to improve my technique as I plot and research my original work.

KathDMD:Amaretto? I'd love to tell you about what happened the last time I had amaretto, but I don't remember! LOL I'm happy the Flawed!Romelle has another fan. I'm glad that that last line had the impact it did. I'm trying to write a very dangerous Lotor that is capable of destroying his enemies from the inside out, but not in the conventional sex-obsessed dumb-brute character. I hate, loathe and despise 'paper-doll' antagonists. And you DID ask for another Lotor scene? This one's for you. Keep the bottle handy.

Ebon Drake: Glad you liked them!(The changes, that is) Thank you for pointing out where they needed to be! You of all people know how angsty that chapter was for me! And I'm also happy that at least one other author saw what I saw in that episode, that Romelle and family actually liked the Doomies at first. And why Lotor becomes so vindictive to Romelle is coming, and it's not exactly Romelle that does the worst of it…but Shhh! It's a secret! And I'm still a little sad, but I'm feeling better. Thank you

Bknbu: I'm glad you're liking my Lotor! 'Cause you're getting more of him! And yes, we do see eye to eye on the characterization of antagonists, they are the mirror image of our protagonists for sure. Without great villains our heroes would be nothing. It's a special challenge to write Lotor, and the other antagonists fairly, yet make sure that I don't bestow them with virtues they don't possess. Oh, and this chapter… very NSFW.

Guest:Thank you for reading! I really appreciate that! It's always a treat to when someone takes the time to review!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comics and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way.**

A/N:This chapter contains adult situations and non-con trigger material. Reader discretion is strongly advised. Also, this goes without saying, but NSFW.

**Razor's Edge**

**Chapter 11**

**1**

When Martinez had been roused from hibernation the nurse who examined her had assured her that vivid dreams and sleep paralysis were normal, common side effects of the drugs, but that they would subside in a week or so. They hadn't. It had been more than three weeks now and the dreams still hadn't stopped. If anything they were getting worse. Encroaching into her wakeful hours and distracting her with long buried memories; shattering her concentration and sending her into a fugue-like state. Twice it had happened during flight simulation. During the first occurrence she had snapped out of it in time. However with the second she had failed the exercise. Although a severe incident had only happened once, the lack of sleep and stress was causing her overall performance to suffer enough for her squad leader to notice. To make matters worse medical evaluations were sheduled in two weeks and she was in real jeopardy of losing her clearance to fly. Luckily she had been able to hide the worst of her condition and there was still a little time left for it to clear up. However, if her commander ever found out how bad it really was she would have been grounded already.

Thankfully her roommate, a young woman from the African continent named Tjhere, a logistics officer, was good natured and easy to get along with. She sympathized with Martinez's plight, having had both hibernation and jump sickness herself in the past. "No worries! I have been where you are. It will get better. It takes longer than they say. Always do." But Martinez wondered how long Tjhere's tolerance would last. Her nightmares often disturbed the other woman and Tjhere had been forced on more than one occasion to shake Martinez awake because her dreams were so violent. Tonight's terror had been particularly intense, so bad that it had frightened Tjhere as well. Martinez remembered the look on her face and shook her head in resignation. She couldn't really blame her; no telling what else she had heard her say in her sleep.

"Hey! Hey! Martinez! Wake up!" Tjhere's hand shaking her shoulder had been firm but not rough. Martinez had been curled tightly in the fetal position sobbing. She had bolted upright gasping with tears streaming down her face. It took her a moment to recognize her roomate, who had jumped away in alarm at her sudden movement. Martinez's breathing quieted as she calmed down.

"_Senepa! Li senepa… Li shas iarra a'jada ki._" Martinez had gasped putting her palm to her forehead and taking a deep shuddering breath. The dreams were so vivid; sometimes she didn't know what was real and what wasn't.

"What?" Tjhere looked at her wide eyed in confusion and alarm.

"_Li senepa-"_

"I can't understand you. Speak Terran."

Martinez stopped mid-sentence, blinking in confusion then realized she was speaking Imperial Drule. "I'm sorry. Sorry I woke you." She replied this time in a language the other woman could comprehend.

"Are you okay? You were screaming like someone had been murdered."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine now. It was just a dream." Martinez said more to soothe herself. Someone had been murdered. The mental image of Jamilla's unconscious body and bloody face lying on the polished granite before they dragged her away to be euthanized was clear as the moment she had seen it. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears and quickly blinked them away. _Jamilla._ Once her rival, then her closest friend. It had been years since Martinez had thought about her life as slave in such detail, but her nightly episodes brought it all back as if it was yesterday.

"Where did you learn to speak Drule like that?" Tjhere asked eyeing her warily.

"Oh, I was a translator before I went to flight school."

"Girl, you sound just like one of them."

"Oh, I know. My native language is Spanish. They share some of the same sounds like the soft 'th' sound and the silent 'J.' "Martinez explained.

"You scared the hell out of me when I heard you. I thought we'd been attacked. Try to scream in Terran from now on, okay?" The woman smiled reassuringly and laughed a little.

"Sure, I'll see what I can do." Martinez said smiling back, glad her small lie had been convincing enough. She knew better than to tell anything close to the truth about where and how she came to have such a command of the enemy's language.

She actually had been a translator when she enlisted, it had been a waste of time for her to go to school for it since she was already fluent. But they had sent her anyway. It was the only thing that had got her packet approved for the Corps. They needed translators for the communications they intercepted as desperately as she needed to get sober. Letting that Marine recruiter buy her a cup of coffee instead of bourbon was the smartest moved she ever made. She couldn't imagine where she'd be today if she hadn't crawled out of that bottle.

"You sure you're ok?" Tjhere asked once more before getting back in her bunk.

"Yeah, really I'm fine. Thank you." Martinez said and lay back down on the pillow and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

Tjhere turned off the light with the remote. Martinez lay in the dark as afraid of another sleepless night as she was of the nightmares that waited for her as soon as she closed her eyes. She slid her cheek against the linen of the pillow; so surprisingly crisp, clean and smooth it conjured memories of other fine linens and drifting off to sleep with icy white hair spread out on the pillow beside her. She toyed with two rings stacked on the ring finger of her left hand. Twisting them about before settling them back into the deep grove of the callous that had they formed from years of wear. Her eyes filled with tears again and this time she let them fall. Hot and wet they trailed from the corners of her eyes to her temples disappearing into her hairline. Perhaps it was time she confronted these ghosts rather than let them haunt her dreams and stalk her future from the shadows of the past. She wiped the wetness from her eyes and willingly thought about something that she had tried for years to forget.

"_Wow, he has big ears. Like a wolf." Was her first impression when she saw him sitting at his desk in his suite of rooms on the ship. The glow from the holoscreen highlighted his profiled features and turning the shiny white of his hair a bright, pale blue. His smooth skin was a light bluish grey, a warm hue that reminded her of the crayon color cadet blue. She was surprised because the images of the Drule that they had on the news always showed them with large floppy looking ears like a donkey or scalloped like bat wings. They were also supposed to have rough scales and curved fangs jutting up from their lower jaws. She had imagined them to be like some kind of reptile beast-men, not the exotic yet very human looking creature before her. _

_She had been captured over a week ago and this was the first close look she had gotten at a Drule. When she was first taken on board all the Drule had been in uniform and wearing helmets with visors so it was hard to see what they looked like other than the blue skin of the exposed part of their jaw line. Since then everything had been so frightening and confusing her memory was a haze of disconnected images. _

_The last thing she remembered before waking up a prisoner on the ship was being in the middle of playing a soccer game. It was the playoffs, if her team won they would go on to the finals. It looked like every person in the entire southwestern settlement of the newly chartered moon NewZion had come to watch the game. Then a storm came out of nowhere. The sky turned black and there was wind and lightning. She was knocked flat by the wind and she felt herself get lifted up by it. At first she thought it was a tornado, they were quite common for the region. Now she knew it was some kind of energy field the Drules used to catch slaves. It made her nauseous just thinking about it._

_For the most part she and Jamilla had been left alone in the cell they shared since Lexi had died. Before her capture she had known both girls but not very well. They were both on the opposing soccer team and older than she was. She knew Lexi a little better, they sang choir at the same church, but didn't socialize much because of their age difference. Whatever rivalry they had felt for each other disappeared instantly and they had become fast friends -as close as sisters. After Lexi killed herself, Jamilla had made her promise she wouldn't try to harm herself like that. They were going to get out of this. Alive. And get home again. _

_They were given their meals through a slot in the wall and no one checked on them that she could see. The guards outside the doors had grayish hair kept in a braid and she had glimpsed their yellow eyes but she tried not to look directly at them in order to avoid attracting any attention to herself like Coach Foster had warned before they had been singled out and separated. The one which had come to get her had on a hood-like garment that covered his head so that just his face was exposed. He took her to shower and the pervert had watched the whole time. Then he took her clothes away and gave her a clingy red silk slip-but no undergarments or shoes- to put on before brining her here. To him._

'_If he didn't have those big, pointy wolf ears and he wasn't blue he would look just like a man.' She mused. She realized she was staring and quickly shifted her gaze. Her eyes fell on the spot in front of the foot of the bed where Lexi had died and she felt her throat constrict. She peeked back at him wondering what he had thought when he saw the dead girl hanging from a ring in the ceiling by the cord he used to bind her hands. _

_His attention was on something else at the moment, his fingers poked the air at visuals that she could not see from where she stood. Her mouth ran dry when she noticed that his hands were different than a human's. They were large and muscular and she could see scars on the backs of them and on his knuckles. Two large gold rings set with red stones flashed as he typed something. The pads of his fingers seemed more rounded and pronounced and it looked like he had claws like an animal. Not retractable spiny cat claws, but curved, narrow and canine. 'Oh God, please don't let him touch me with those things,' she prayed. She looked away and tried to steady the weak feeling in her knees._

_After several more minutes he still hadn't so much as glanced at her. It gave her some hope. Maybe he was too busy and she could go back to the cell with Jamilla. Maybe he didn't like her? She hoped so. Because then he wouldn't rape her like he tried to do to Lexi. She knew that's what they did to women when they captured them. She had heard the news reports and the awful, disgusting things her cousin, Edgar, who had come back from the war, would say to her and her sister trying to scare them. He said they were big like donkeys down there too and that they would take turns until the woman passed out. Or died. He said that no man would want a woman who'd been raped by those animals because she'd be a ruined, dirty _puta.

_She shifted from one foot to the other, digging her toes into the deep pile of the carpet, and fiddled with the purity rings she wore stacked on the middle finger of her left hand. One that her parents had given her at her __quinceañera__, the other she had taken off Lexi's cold, stiff finger when no one was watching. _

_She thought for a moment to look for a way to escape, then realized even if she got out of the room she had no where to go. They would only catch her and bring her back. There was only one sure way out of here and Lexi had taken that route. She looked at the alien again and wondered what had happened between them that Lexi would rather die than suffer through. She started to feel weak and light headed at the thought and tried to distract herself. She looked around curiously taking note of her surroundings, trying to examine each detail in hopes that she could learn something that would help her understand the nature of the creature that held her life in his hands. _

_It was the most elegant room she had ever seen. It was very large with adjoining chambers that she could not see because of the dim lighting. The walls were some kind of wood paneling with a lot of knotting in the grain. There was some inlay as well, with a darker wood, like ebony, in intricate geometric shapes trimming out each panel. The carpet under her bare feet was very plush and it looked to be sort of oriental in style, but not like any design she had ever seen. It was a deep scarlet background with black and what looked like real gold thread as the accent colors. She noticed that the border matched the inlay pattern on the walls._

_A large holo of a woman in full battle armor brandishing a glowing sword over her head hung on the opposite wall over an altar of some kind. At least it looked like an altar. She hadn't noticed any of this on her previous visit. That time all her attention was focused on was Lexi's body in a heap on the floor in front of the bed. She started to tremble and looked back at the paneling trying to find shapes and objects in the random whorls of the grain to distract her self from the memory. _

"_Does it meet your approval?" He asked in accented Trade. She jumped at the sound of his voice and turned quickly to look at him. His voice was surprisingly melodious and balanced. Her choir director would have called it a dramatic bass-baryton. _

_She opened her mouth to say something but the words died in her throat as she saw his bright yellow eyes fixed on her. She shuffled back half a step and nodded slowly, pressing her lips together as she stared at him. _

'Madre de Dios!'_ She thought. They were not jaundiced yellow sclera with slits like she had seen in illustrations but bright golden irises that took up nearly his whole eye with pupils that dilated dramatically as he looked away from the bright visuals. She glanced at his ears, the claws on his fingers and again at his eyes and she was reminded of a classical story that she had read in Terran literature class. Something about a girl and a wolf. _

"_Do I frighten you?" He asked. He looked amused._

_She shook her head again."N-no...nothing…just…your eyes are…um,big…" She trailed off._

"_They make it easy to look at pretty girls." He smiled at her obvious lie, revealing his elongated canines. _

"_Oh." She nodded stiffly, breaking out in a cold sweat at the sight of his sharp white teeth._

_He swept his gaze up and down her slowly and she found herself hunching her shoulders self consciously trying to hide her breasts. She had developed early and the attention her bosom received had always embarrassed her. She noticed he was staring at them and started to cross her arms over her chest. _

"_Put your arms down." He ordered and she did as she was told, cringing when she felt her nipples harden in response to the light brush of material over them._

_Done talking to her he turned back to his visuals. She relaxed a little only to startle again when he picked up a goblet and thrust it at her. She looked around not knowing what to do._

"_Fill this up." He said then nodded toward a well stocked bar. She walked over and reached for a decanter and he shook his head._

"_No. The red." _

_She picked it up and brought it over and poured it into the glass. He took a drink and went back to his business. _

_She stood there holding the decanter feeling foolish. She didn't know if she should put it back or not. She noticed that his glass was already half empty and figured that at this rate she should just keep the bottle close. She filled his glass again and he drank it down. She looked at the empty glass and filled it up noticing that he didn't even look as he picked it up. _

_She was surprised he liked it so much. She had tried wine before but didn't care for the taste. She sloshed the liquor around and held the vessel up to her nose sniffing it. _

"_Would you like some?" He asked and she jumped in surprise again and shook her head 'no.' He was looking at her with a strange half smile on his face. He gestured to his nearly empty glass once more. She filled it and saw he was closing out of the visuals and shutting the system down. Her hopes of him being too busy and being sent back to her cell vanished._

"_You are a very pretty girl." He said and stood up from his chair. She gasped when she saw how tall he was. She found her self staring at the middle of his very broad and muscular chest. He reached out and took her chin in his fingers and tilted her face up to look at him. She swallowed and started to shake. _

"_So pretty." He repeated stroking her jaw with his fingertips._

"_Please don't hurt me." she whispered her hazel eyes filling with tears._

"_Shhh…" He said rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip. "I don't want to. And I won't as long as you promise to be good." _

_She nodded blinking as her eyes overflowed. He took the decanter from her hands and placed it on the desk picked up his glass and led her gently by the wrist to the bed. _

"_Drink this. It'll calm you down." He said handing her his glass and indicating for her to sit. She took it reluctantly and peered at the contents wondering about alien germs. He stared at her expectantly and made a small gesture with his finger encouraging her to drink."Go on." _

_Tentatively she took a small sip expecting it to be sour, but it wasn't. It was sweeter than the wine she had tried but it had the hot burn of strong liquor. _

"_Drink." He said again more forcefully. She brought the glass to her lips and took a swallow making a face as the liquid slid painfully down her throat. He shook his head in amusement at her expression and started removing his shirt. "All of it." He commanded and walked into an adjoining room. _

_She took another sip and this time the burning feeling wasn't so intense. She tried it again, this time taking a larger swallow trying to finish it as fast as she could. She gagged a little as her stomach heaved in protest of the high proof alcohol._

_He walked back into the room completely naked. _

_She gaped at him and felt her face burn hot with embarrassment. She had seen plenty of men shirtless before. But none of them had looked like this. And none of them were blue either! His bulging sinewy muscles rippled as he moved. He was a physically powerful man and if it was possible he was more intimidating without his uniform. She shuddered at the thought of the harm he could do to her if he chose. _

_She wasn't completely naive. She had a boyfriend and they would go on group dates with their friends. She had even kissed him with her tongue and they had touched each other through their clothes. But nothing in her limited experience prepared her for the sight of a sexually mature adult male. Her mouth ran dry and she brought the glass to her lips again._

"_Do you like it?" He asked._

_Her face flushed red again as he caught her staring at his penis. "Like what?" she asked uncertain exactly what he meant. She looked quickly away and took another gulp of the strong liquor._

"_The wine." He asked clearly enjoying her discomfort. He went over the desk and picked up the decanter. _

"_Well?" He asked when she still didn't respond._

"_Um…I don't know yet." She finally managed and quickly took another sip as she peeped at him again and looked quickly away blushing again to the roots of her hair. She couldn't not look at it! _

_To her surprise he laughed out loud. "Oh, you are delightful." Then he walked to the bar grabbed a glass and poured himself another drink. He came back to the bed and stretched out in the middle of it and put a hand behind his head._

" _Finish that and stand up." He ordered._

_She swallowed the last sip put the glass down on a side table and up quickly. Her head swam and she wobbled a little. _

"_Take off your dress. I want to look at you."_

_She hesitated but only for a moment, afraid to risk the consequences of refusing. She lifted the slip over her head with a strange sense of detachment. She turned slowly feeling a little unsteady and oddly disconnected from her body, a strange dreamy type of feeling. She supposed that she was a little drunk. 'So this is what its like.' she thought. She no longer felt the anxiety she had before, only a quiet sense of dread of the inevitable. 'If I just pretend I'm not really here it'll be ok.' She rationalized desperately._

_She experienced a jolt of alarm when she saw he was leisurely stroking himself and he had become fully erect. 'There's no way he's going to put that thing inside me.' She thought of what her cousin had said and a fresh wave of panic washed over her. _

"_Oh, those are very nice." He said eyeing her breasts appreciatively. She instinctively tried to cover herself by crossing her arms over them._

"_Put your arms down!" He scolded and she dropped her hands, clenching them into fists at her sides. "Turn around. I want to see you from the back." Fresh tears of degradation pricked her eyes as she did as she was told, hoping that the floor would somehow open up and swallow her whole. _

_After a moment he told her to get on the bed and lay down. She did and lay stiffly with her legs tightly together like a wooden doll and shut her eyes. He set his glass down and he rolled over and began touching her. His hands were calloused but warm. He stroked the length of her body and praised how soft and smooth her skin was. He paid special attention to her breasts, cupping them in his hand and rubbing her nipples over his palm and between his fingers. Several times she felt something firm and blunt poke her on the side of her leg and she knew it was his penis. She made a small sound as his fingers went lower and touched her between her legs, pressing into her. Suddenly he stopped and moved his hand back up to her stomach._

"_What's your name?" He asked. The question surprised her and her eyes sprung open. _

"_Dolores." She answered softly. He frowned. "But everyone calls me Lollie." His frown deepened as if he didn't like it. "But my _abuela_ calls me Lolita."_

"_Lolita." He repeated nodding his approval. "It suits you." He leaned over and kissed her mouth. She was surprised how soft and warm his lips were. He was gentle at first and she closed her eyes and tried to pretend that he was Aleo, her boyfriend. Then he became more insistent and the fantasy was over. He was forceful and demanding where Aleo was tentative and sweet. She tried to pull away but he held her head firmly in place. He parted her lips and probed her mouth with his tongue. She could taste the liquor he had been drinking. He pulled back a little, his lips still grazing hers. She yelped in pain as he bit her bottom lip with his pointed teeth hard enough to pierce the skin inside. Then he pressed his mouth against hers again his tongue seeking the blood he had drawn. Satisfied, he released her mouth and she stared at him wide eyed and gasping for breath as he leaned back and stroked a piece of chestnut hair back from her forehead. _

"_Tell me, Lolita, does your _abuela_ kiss you like that?" He asked with his cocky half smile. His question shocked her out of her fear._

"_What?!" She said and shoved hard away from him. " No! That's disgusting!" She sat up and looked at him incredulously. He mirrored her expression, his white eyebrows raised in surprise. _

"_So your _abuela_ doesn't kiss you?" he asked frowning._

"_Yes, but not like that." She shifted further away and looked at him suspiciously. What kind of people were these Drules? They were worse than she thought!_

_He narrowed his eyes before asking, "What is an abuela?" _

" _My abuela is my grandmother." She explained and looked away from him suddenly regretting her outburst as he scowled even harder. _

"_Nhg." He growled and she flinched at the aggressive sound. " Well, then I suppose she wouldn't kiss you like that." He laughed a little his expression relaxing. He looked chagrined and that surprised her. She thought he would be angry because she had made him feel foolish. _

"_You are a bold one aren't you? I like that." He said caressing her cheek with his knuckles. "Here, have some more." He reached over and picked up his glass of wine from the table and handed it to her._

"_Don't you want it?" she asked. _

_He shook his head. "I think I've had too much and you haven't had enough." He gestured with his hand for her to drink. She peered at the remaining liquor then back at him and thought about germs again and supposed that it was too late to worry about that now and took a sip. She was a little surprised that she was beginning to like the taste and the warm tingling feeling in her belly was spreading through her body. The odd, disconnected feeling intensified. _

"_So tell me, who does kiss you like that?" He asked moving closer to her and propping himself up on one elbow._

_Lolita thought of Aleo and took another sip. She glanced down and became distracted by the damask bedcover, noticing for the first time the tiny glint of gold threads that were in the relief pattern. They intrigued her and she stroked the fabric with her finger tip tracing the ridges in the weave._

"_Well?" He asked again trailing his curved nail down her arm and watching the chill bumps rise on her flesh._

_She paused a moment and turned to him. His pupils were dilated to completely round softening his expression. She looked at his eyes admiring the depth of color in his dark gold irises. They looked surreal and magical. Captivating. She brought her fingers to her stinging lower lip said softly, "No one."_

"_Ever?" _

_She shook her head and parted her lips to say 'no' but found herself distracted by his hair. She wanted to touch it to see if it was as silky as it looked. Her mind was becoming cloudy and it seemed impossible to focus on any one thought. They all just seemed to run together randomly like a dream._

"_Good." He said smiling and continued to gently trace his nails along her skin. She shivered and closed her eyes at the pleasant sensation. He took the glass from her and started to push her back down. She braced her hands behind her and resisted him. He pulled a silken cord from its ring on the headboard. It was identical to the one she had untied from around Lexi's neck. For a moment her vision swam and she gasped at a sudden feeling of vertigo. It passed and the warm dreamlike feeling returned._

"_Are you going to behave or am I going to need this?" He asked. _

_She looked at the cord with a strange sense of detachment and shook her head. "No. I'll be good."_

"_Relax. This will be so much better if you just relax." He said stroking her flesh with his finger tips and coaxed her back down on the bed. _

_As she lay there the floating feeling intensified, as if she was on a raft on the water. He kissed her and she kissed him back reflexively. Everything seemed to disappear into sensation and the colors were brighter and blurred together becoming amorphous shapes. She ran her fingers through his hair then and it seemed like she could feel each individual strand. The texture fascinated her. _

_He moved nuzzling the hollow between her ear and her neck and she writhed at the delicious feeling. His lips trailed down her body kissing her breasts and sucking on her nipples. Her sense of reality dissolved completely. She wanted to feel ashamed but couldn't. Closing her eyes she arched up under him sighing as she felt his tongue swirl around her nipple. He moved to the other breast and slid his hands down her body touching her pussy and slipping his fingers in her soft folds. She moaned at the pleasure he created. He pressed deeper with his finger, probing and she felt him begin to penetrate her. _

_Some visceral part of her rebelled then but she couldn't find the will to say no. She looked at him, watching what he was doing trying to remember why it was wrong and why she shouldn't want this. He stroked her clitoris and she jerked in surprised at the sudden jolt of pleasure. It was so much more intense than when she touched herself and unable to stop the words she told him so. She heard him chuckle and say something in his own language as he slid his finger in and out of her, penetrating her but not deep enough to pierce her hymen. _

_She groaned in protest when he withdrew it. Then she felt him slide down her body, the silky strands of his hair caressing her stomach and spilling over her thighs. For a moment she was vaguely aware that there was something about his teeth she didn't like when she felt the warmth of his mouth on her. She cried out forgetting completely when he began rhythmically flicking his tongue on her clitoris. The pleasure was exquisite, beyond anything she had ever imagined. It coursed through her body and flashed behind her eyes like fireworks. _

_The vertigo feeling returned and she clutched the sheets trying to stop it. She felt his hands on her hips holding her steady as she squirmed and it seemed to fade back into blinding pleasure as he continued to caress her with his tongue. He caught her clit gently between his teeth and sucked on it and slipping his finger into her again and carefully began thrusting it back and forth. She gripped his hair and pressed herself against him, hovering just on the edge of climaxing. She could feel nothing else as it built up and intensified until finally she arched her back crying out as she came. She felt like she was flying and a kaleidoscope of colors strobed in her mind as the ecstasy of her orgasm coursed through her. He kept stroking her with his mouth until the trembling stopped and then moved over her again. _

_He kissed her and she tasted herself on his lips. She was surprised how pleasant it was and kissed him back wanting more. He pulled away._

"_I'm so glad you like that… Sweet, virgin keshu…" He said then kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her open mouth. _

_She felt the head of his cock pressing against her inner thigh. He took her hand and drew it between them wrapping her fingers around it. It was nothing like she thought it would be. She her fingertips along it enjoying the silky feel of the skin and its warmth as she caressed the bulbous tip curiously. She continued stroking it tracing her fingers along the veiny ridges, exploring its length, girth and more curiously its weight. It felt firm and strong. She felt it throb and she squeezed it back and he groaned. _

"_Put it in." He said wrapping his hand around hers and guiding it to the entrance of her vagina. She felt him start to push inside and as the large organ met with resistance the terrible falling feeling returned. She opened her eyes to look at him and something shifted dramatically. She saw his blue skin, alien yellow eyes, and sharp white fangs and thought he was a demon. She gasped in fear and a sickening chill swept through her turning everything black and white like a negative photo image . He pushed harder and she tried to pull her hand off of his penis but his was still over hers keeping it there. She jerked it down and dislodged him before he could enter her and yanked her hand away. _

"_No!" She finally said in a brief moment of lucidity. "Please don't do this…" _

"_Why not?" He asked, his golden eyes gleaming dangerously in the low light._

"_I don't love you ." She whispered thinking of her purity ring. The inscription read 'True love waits.' She had made a promise to her family and to God and she was breaking it with Lucifer himself._

"_You will." He promised._

_He repositioned himself and she felt him pushing into her harder and more purposefully. It hurt as her flesh gave way as he entered her and the colors flashed black and red behind her eyes. He thrust in slowly working himself deeper each time and she felt herself stretching painfully to fit him. Finally he reached her hymen and after pressing against it for a moment he tore through it and she heard herself scream. The vertigo returned with the searing pain. It seemed like the whole world was fragmenting to pieces and she was being whirled randomly about. The only things that seemed real and constant were the pulsing agony at her core and the hardness of the man on top of her. As everything thing else around her seemed to disintegrate she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Her nails bit deep and drew blood as she clung to him desperately like a rock in the chaos. _

_She had no memory of what happened after that except that sometime later she felt a cool cloth pressed up against her swollen labia. It was uncomfortably intimate even after all that had happened. She tried to sit up but he shushed her and his hands on her shoulders urged her back down. _

" _Lolita, lay still. Close your eyes." He said and she felt something press against the inside of her forearm, then the cold zap of a transdermal syringe injection and then everything faded to black._

_When she woke she was alone. Her head ached fiercely and her hands were tied together securely to one of the rings in the head board. And she needed to pee. A short while later the hooded man came in and untied her. He handed her a robe at arms length. She put it on and swung her legs over and tried to stand. Her knees buckled and she fell, but he made no move to help her. She steadied herself and pulled herself up by the edge of the bed and he gestured for her to follow him. He pushed a button on a panel and a door swished open._

"_Attend yourself." He said curtly. She looked in a saw it was the washroom. She was glad because now she had to pee very badly. She walked in and he made no move to close the door and she stood there shifting from one foot to the other until her need overcame her embarrassment. It had stung terribly when she urinated. Her genitals felt painfully swollen and she noticed a tinge of pink on the hygienic wipe. She caught a glimpse of her tangled hair and bruised lips in the mirror had wanted to shower but the hooded man refused, only letting her wash her hands and her face. When she had cleaned up a little he lead her back to her cell. On the way she caught a few of the sidelong glances that the soldiers gave her disheveled appearance and was overcome with humiliation. They knew what had happened; what she had done. Jamilla was standing at the door when it opened and rushed to her when she came in alone and it closed behind her._

"_Oh, my God! Lollie! Oh, Thank God! Thank God you're back! I was so afraid! Did they hurt you?" She said embracing the younger girl before holding her by the shoulders and checking her frantically for signs of injury._

_Lolita shied away, covering her bruised lip with the back of her hand and looked at her feet, tears of shame building behind her eyes. "No," she whispered as they started to fall. "Not really." _

_For a moment Jamilla looked confused then realization dawned on her and she tried to hug Lolita again. But this time the girl jerked away forcefully. _

"_No! Don't! Don't touch me!" She shouted finally in place where her rage and shame could be expressed. _

"_Oh, no. Oh God, no! What happened? What did he do?" _

"_Leave me alone!"_

"_Oh, baby! Baby, you didn't do anything wrong! " Jamilla tried again to get Lolita to look at her._

"_Shut up! Just shut up and leave me alone!" Lolita shouted and ran to the wash area. She stripped off the robe and turned on the water and filled the basin, grabbed a cloth began scrubbing herself with it. She hurt not just between her legs but she also ached deep inside. She wished that hooded man had let her shower. Not that it mattered. She was dirty now. Ruined. A ruined, dirty puta and no amount of bathing would ever wash that away. _

Martinez wiped the wetness away from her eyes. There was a reason she trained herself to suppress these memories. The sense of loss and guilt they created was debilitating. Rationally she knew that she had no choice. That first time he had drugged her with _xiatia_, accidentally overdosing her to the point that she lost consciousness, needing to call a medic to counteract the drug and suture her perineum where she had torn when he penetrated her. And even if he hadn't drugged her she could never have fought him off. Never. He was too big, too strong. Resisting would have only gotten her hurt much, much worse. She had to submit to survive. She had been a prisoner, a slave and there was no such thing as consent in that situation. But try explaining that to someone who's never faced the choice between submission or death. Sometimes, as she remembered the unimaginable wealth and luxury her submission had been rewarded with, she had trouble believing it herself.

**Glossary:**

**Keshu: **(slang) pejorative for female genitalia.

**Xiatia:** An endorphin releasing drug popular among the Drule for sexual recreation because of it's hallucinogenic and synestasia inducing properties.


End file.
